Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: DMK president M K Stalin on Monday said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s press conference on 'vote chori' allegations levelled by I.N.D.I.A. bloc has raised more questions than providing answers to the issues highlighted by opposition parties.
In a statement here, Stalin posed seven questions to the Election Commission of India on allegations of vote chori and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar which excluded about 65 lakh voters.
The Chief Minister asked how there can be so many deletions of eligible voters when house-to-house enumeration was undertaken and whether young voters were enumerated as the enrolment of new voters is abnormally low.
“The procedure for enquiry and two appeals, along with their timelines as contemplated under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, may exclude a huge number of voters in the forthcoming elections in Bihar. Is the ECI going to address this issue?” Stalin asked.
He also sought to know whether the Election Commission would take these practical difficulties into account while conducting SIR in other states. Noting that the DMK has requested the ECI to delete the names of deceased voters from the rolls by undertaking the exercise contemplated in its May 1, 2025 notification, and sought to know when this will be done?
“What prevents the ECI from enlisting Aadhaar as one of the acceptable documents to prove a voter’s claim? If “Fair Elections” is truly the aim of the ECI, why can’t it be more transparent and voter-friendly?” Stalin asked.