Sitharaman Alleges Over 4K Bogus Voters In Stalin's Kolathur Seat, Says 'Tamil Nadu Needs SIR'

Sitharaman Alleges Over 4K Bogus Voters In Stalin's Kolathur Seat, Says 'Tamil Nadu Needs SIR'

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday accused Chief Minister MK Stalin's Kolathur constituency of having about 4,379 duplicate voters, claiming the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls aims to remove such fraudulent entries.

“Can we assert that Stalin won the election using these bogus voters in his Kolathur constituency? Should these irregularities not be eliminated?" she asked.

During a press briefing in Coimbatore, she pointed out, “In booth number 157, the name Rafiullah is listed in three places with three different EPIC numbers. Approximately 9,133 voters are registered with fake addresses in Kolathur constituency."

“Moreover, 30 voter IDs are registered at a single address (house number 11, booth number 84), and 62 voters from various religions and castes are listed at one address (house number 20, booth number 187). Similarly, 80 voters of different religions are registered at one house (house number 10, booth number 140)."

Upon verification, it is evident that they live at different addresses. In total, there are 5,964 mixed households — voters with no relation to each other — falsely registered at the same address in the constituency. If there is so much duplication in just one constituency, should these irregularities not be rectified and the system reformed?" Sitharaman questioned.

Responding to Stalin's claim that the SIR was a conspiracy, she said he described SIR as an act of disenfranchisement, while Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin spoke without knowing what SIR entails. The Constitution mandates the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct SIR before every election. However, it is unclear why the DMK is protesting against it, she remarked.

She further questioned why the DMK did not oppose the SIR during its previous 13 implementations and accused the party of adopting this stance to obscure the failures of its governance in Tamil Nadu and divert attention from real issues.

“It has become habitual for them to allege misuse of EVMs only when opposition parties or the BJP win elections, and to claim that central investigation agencies are being used to intimidate," she said.

Additionally, she assured that no one's voting rights will be revoked. “But if someone lacks the proper documents, legal action will be taken by the ECI."

Meanwhile, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss claimed that members of the ruling DMK were illegally involved in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across Tamil Nadu, a task legally assigned to government officials.

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In a statement on Tuesday, Anbumani alleged that instead of designated booth-level officers, DMK's IT wing members and youth wing functionaries were visiting households to distribute and collect voter data forms exclusively from party supporters, ignoring others.

He further highlighted that while the DMK government professes to support a clean and transparent electoral process, its cadre's actions undermine the system's credibility. He urged the ECI to appoint IAS officers from other states as observers in every Assembly seat to ensure impartial oversight of the SIR.

Source: News18
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