DMK MPs adopt resolutions to scrap SIR, remove CEC and return to paper ballots

What the DMK decided

DMK Members of Parliament met at the party headquarters in Chennai on Saturday, October 17, in a meeting chaired by party president M.K. Stalin. ThePrint reports four resolutions: withdrawal of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with upcoming elections held on the rolls that existed before it; removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and an investigation into his conduct; replacement of electronic voting machines with paper ballots; and support for student protests against the SIR.

Mathrubhumi also describes four resolutions but lists them differently: removal of Kumar, support for protests by student organizations including the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), condemnation of the Congress and the ruling TVK for what the DMK calls double standards on the roll revision, and corrective measures on electoral irregularities. It says the party also called for cancelling the SIR and returning to ballot paper voting. The reports do not say whether the two lists describe the same text.

The party said it will petition President Droupadi Murmu to cancel the SIR and replace voting machines with paper ballots, according to ThePrint. No submission date is given.

The DMK's allegations

The DMK says the SIR has wrongly excluded eligible voters and deleted names without adequate notice or clear criteria, with the heaviest effect on marginalized communities, minorities, migrant workers and young voters, according to ThePrint. It also accuses Kumar of pushing the SIR despite what it describes as opposition from the other two Election Commissioners. Stalin posted on X that the party wants the ballot-paper system back.

Remarks on the Congress and TVK

The reports describe the DMK criticizing two other parties. ThePrint says one resolution criticized the Congress for what it called a changing stance from state to state, saying the party opposed the SIR nationally but was restrained in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and faulted the silence of Chief Minister Vijay's TVK until earlier that week. Mathrubhumi reports that the DMK said it would not take part in any activity alongside the Congress and accused it of trying to take over a movement built by students. Neither report carries a response from the Congress or the TVK.

Mathrubhumi adds that Stalin called the detention of two CJP leaders, with their location undisclosed, illegal, and that the DMK would provide legal assistance to the CJP.

A separate call for marches

On October 18, The Navhind Times reported that a new platform called People Against SIR, formed on October 14 in New Delhi by organizations representing farmers, workers, women, students and other groups, called for marches across the country on October 23. Navhind Times says it wants Parliament to impeach Kumar and the SIR scrapped, and that it would hold peaceful marches without seeking police permission.