Chennai: The DMK MPs Saturday demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and restoration of ballot paper voting in place of electronic voting machines, a party statement said.
The demands formed part of four resolutions adopted at a meeting chaired by DMK president M.K. Stalin at the Murasoli Maran Meeting Hall in Anna Arivalayam, the party’s headquarters in Chennai. The meeting began at 11 a.m Saturday.
The parliamentary group also resolved to submit a petition to the President of India seeking corrective measures to address alleged electoral irregularities. The proposed representation will place the party’s demands with regard to electoral roll revision and the voting system before the President.
In its first resolution, the meeting called for Gyanesh Kumar’s removal from office. The demand placed the Chief Election Commissioner at the centre of the party’s criticism of the electoral administration, alongside its opposition to the SIR exercise.
The resolutions adopted by the party, however, did not specify individual instances of alleged irregularities or outline the grounds on which it would seek the Chief Election Commissioner’s removal.
Further details of the proposed presidential petition were also not provided.
A second resolution extended the DMK’s support to protests organised by student organisations. The meeting formally endorsed the protests, although the resolution did not identify the organisations involved, their specific demands or the locations of the demonstrations.
The third resolution condemned the Congress and the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), accusing both parties of adopting double standards. The brief account of the resolutions did not elaborate on the statements or actions that prompted this criticism.
The fourth resolution focused on approaching the President over the party’s electoral concerns. Its concluding demands sought complete cancellation of the SIR, replacement of EVMs with ballot papers and submission of a petition to the President.
Together, the resolutions set out the DMK parliamentary group’s stated position on electoral administration, student protests and its criticism of the Congress and TVK.
The meeting’s decisions placed electoral issues prominently on its agenda, with the demand for changes to voter roll revision and voting procedures accompanying its call for action against the head of the Election Commission of India.
