Chennai, 28 October (H.S.) : BJP National General Council Member K. Annamalai has strongly refuted the criticisms leveled by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Annamalai, a former State BJP president, accused Stalin of appalling double standards and selective amnesia, dismissing the Chief Minister's claims that the Election Commission's exercise was a conspiracy intended to disenfranchise voters and unfairly benefit the BJP. He argued that such accusations expose the Chief Minister's hollow understanding of democratic processes.
In a statement released on social media, Annamalai clarified that intensive revisions of electoral rolls are a routine democratic procedure, noting that such exercises have been conducted 13 times in the past, including between 1952 and 2004, making this revision not a first-time event.
His core counter-attack centered on the political updates from the DMK’s past actions, reminding that it was the DMK itself that had previously demanded similar revisions.
Annamalai specifically recalled that in 2016, the DMK alleged the existence of 57.43 lakh bogus voters. Furthermore, he noted that in 2017, the party sought a statewide revision, advocating for linking Aadhaar to voter IDs and demanding door-to-door verification.
Further updates from Annamalai’s recollection included the period before the R.K. Nagar bypoll, when Stalin himself approached the Madras High Court to seek the deletion of names of deceased or relocated voters to ensure the accuracy of the list.
CM Stalin had initially alleged that conducting the SIR before elections and during the monsoon months was a ploy to aid the BJP and suppress voters' rights.
Annamalai countered this by emphasizing the necessity of accurate rolls, asserting, “The sanctity of democracy rests on the integrity of the electoral roll. One hopes the DMK rediscovers this wisdom and spares Tamil Nadu another episode of selective amnesia.”
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Hindusthan Samachar / Dr. R. B. Chaudhary
