Chennai SIR protest: DMK MP Kanimozhi criticises SC for speaking up after damage was done

Indirectly appearing to criticise the Supreme Court for failing to uphold the rights of crores of voters who were removed from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi said on October 16 that they respond only after the “damage is done.” 

The MP was speaking at the protest gathering against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar held at Rajarathnam Stadium in Chennai. The protest demanded Gyanesh’s resignation and the roll back of the SIR.

“Even when people expect justice, the authorities respond only after a delay. When something happens, the authorities do not speak up. Only after the damage is done do they say they did not approve it or had nothing to do with it,” Kanimozhi said referring to the Supreme Court which recently said that it did not approve the modified Form 6 declaration which necessitates the applicants to state whether they or their parents were mapped in the previous SIR. The requirement was not part of the earlier Form 6 used during SIR exercises.

In the SIR taken up by the Election Commission of India (ECI), 13 crore voters have been disenfranchised, for which the opposition party including the DMK have been demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar.  

Kanimozhi highlighted that 74 lakh people have lost their voting rights in Tamil Nadu due to the SIR. “In Kolathur, the constituency of our party leader and former Chief Minister MK Stalin, one lakh people have been removed,” the MP said, suggesting large-scale voter manipulation. The former CM lost from the constituency in the recent Assembly elections by a margin of 8,795 votes.

According to the MP, only 20,000 voters were supposed to be removed from the electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, but 74 lakh people were denied voting rights, she said. 

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ECI of voter manipulation, the DMK leader said: “Similar actions have taken place in many parts of the country. In Maharashtra and elsewhere, names are being removed based on whether officials think people in a particular neighbourhood or household are likely to vote for the ruling party. This is what we are opposing.”

Taking a dig at the TVK government which had cracked down on the protesters on October 10, Kanimozhi said: “The governments here, like the BJP government in Delhi, act as though they must suppress every protest. They seem to believe that when young people protest, all they need to do is push them into a corner, shut them away and hide them from view.”

She faulted the selection of Election Commissioners. The BJP-led Union government has modified the selection process, wherein the two Election Commissioners are selected by a three-member Selection Committee, comprising the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition. 

She described this process as a “mere formality.” “Two members of the selection committee are from the ruling side and one is the Leader of the Opposition. Whatever the two ruling-side members decide, the Opposition leader’s dissenting view carries no weight. This process is the height of tokenism.”

Appreciating the young people who have been protesting demanding the roll back of SIR and the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, Kanimozhi said: “Young people across the country have come together. In the earlier youth protests, people thought the young would not question anyone, demand answers or be afraid. But the youth have brought hope back to the country. People who thought nothing would change now see young people fighting for citizens’ electoral rights. They are asking Gyanesh Kumar to leave. We will stand against anything that denies the people of this country their rights.”

The MP demanded that the names of those removed from the electoral rolls must be restored, and justice must be delivered to them. “The right to vote, a fundamental right, must be returned to everyone who has been denied it. That is the purpose of this protest, and it will succeed,” she said. 

The DMK MP said that their party has been consistently opposing the SIR, aware of the dangers. “Across many states, the opposition is being weakened. The ruling party wants to eliminate regional parties because they speak for their states’ rights, identity, beliefs, language and protection. That will never happen as long as self-respect lives in this land and Periyar’s words continue to echo in people’s ears.”

After concluding her speech, the DMK leader extended her solidarity with arrested Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka by waving the tricolour flag. Saurav and Ashutosh have been arrested for entering the Jantar Mantar ground and waving a tricolour flag against the court orders.