MK Stalin with other DMK leaders.
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: Asking his party cadres to act as “guardians of democracy”, DMK president M K Stalin on Friday exhorted them to ensure that “vote theft” in states like Karnataka and Haryana does not repeat in Tamil Nadu by being vigilant through the three-month long Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
In his speech after solemnizing a wedding here, Stalin also took a swipe at newbie politician Vijay without naming him saying some people’s pipe dream of destroying the DMK will never come true.
“This is a movement that saw the Emergency of 1975. This movement survives because of its committed cadres and today, we see people take a vow to wipe out the DMK. Their pipe dreams will never come true. No one can ever touch the DMK,” Stalin said.
Dwelling on SIR of electoral rolls, Stalin said though the party has challenged the exercise before the Supreme Court, the DMK cadres have a “great responsibility” to monitor the process which began in Tamil Nadu on November 4. He also asked the cadres to participate in the state-wide agitation on November 11 by the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) and register their protest.
Stalin asked cadres to immediately dial the helpline set up at party headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, under the supervision of legal wing secretary and Rajya Sabha MP N R Elango, if they encounter any problems during SIR.
Sources in the DMK told DH that the helpline received about 620 calls on Thursday alone from across the state seeking clarification on several queries regarding the enumeration forms. “We have asked Booth Level Agents to be extremely cautious and get in touch with us if they face any problem on the ground or have any doubt regarding filling the forms,” a DMK leader said.
Stalin said labourers, and those in rural areas will be severely affected since the exercise will be concluded in a short span of time. “Furthermore, Rahul Gandhi is leading a major protest against vote theft. He has presented evidence about the extent of vote theft in Karnataka and Haryana. Such a situation must not occur in Tamil Nadu. We should be cautious,” Stalin added.