'Election Commission Pushing India To Democratic Nadir': DMK Minister On SIR

Tamil Nadu IT Minister Dr PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan has launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India (EC) over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, questioning the timing and warning that the exercise risks large-scale disenfranchisement ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

In an exclusive conversation with NDTV's Sam Daniel, Dr Thiagarajan said the DMK has moved the Supreme Court seeking a halt to SIR, emphasising that while the intent of SIR is acceptable, the timing, methodology, and execution raise serious concerns.

"Malintent or benign neglect?"

PTR questioned why those who were part of the 2002 and 2005 SIR exercises are not being automatically included now.

"Validation for 2005 SIR voters is a nightmare. Nearly 33% of voters in my constituency who qualify for inclusion now have to revalidate themselves," he said.

He argued that the SIR workload was unrealistic, especially when untrained EC staff are juggling full-time duties along with election work.

"Distribution of forms and validation in this short window, during the monsoon and ahead of state elections, is simply impractical," he said.

PTR claimed that form distribution figures in Madurai were "far lower" than what the Election Commission claims.

"Why hide data?"

A key part of PTR's criticism is the EC's alleged refusal to share machine-readable versions of the voters list.

"Earlier, the EC gave the list in Excel format. Now they upload only scanned PDFs, which makes it impossible to detect duplication or malpractice. In whose interest is this?" he asked.

He also pointed to discrepancies between polling and counting figures, accusing the EC of not releasing Form 17 data.

"EC's system doesn't inspire confidence. Why hide the data? Is this incompetence or malintent? This is a low point for an independent institution of our democracy."

"Tamil Nadu's case different from Bihar

PTR clarified that while the Supreme Court recently refused to stay SIR in Bihar – where 65 lakh names were removed – Tamil Nadu would make "different and additional arguments" in its petition. 

"The Supreme Court directing EC to accept Aadhar as an acceptable document is a huge improvement," he said.

He stressed that the DMK did not oppose SIR in 2002 or 2005 because those exercises were not conducted in a poll year.

"Do SIR when there is no imminent threat of disenfranchisement."

"The EC doesn't have a large full-time workforce and offers no proper training. The SIR app is inadequate. Even government machinery everywhere struggles to hit outcomes - how can this be done in weeks?" PTR asked.

Drawing a comparison to demonetisation, he said, "Announcing a massive exercise with a 30- to 60-day window is a fallacy. The workload is unrealistic."

Rejecting allegations that Tamil Nadu was resisting the process, PTR said, "Tamil Nadu can't be blamed. DMK functionaries assist BLOs, and anyone can join them."

Opposition backs EC

The AIADMK and BJP, allies in Tamil Nadu, have backed the EC and criticised the DMK's petition.

The AIADMK has called the DMK's objections an "excuse" ahead of what it believes will be the ruling party's defeat in the coming elections.

EC's response

The Election Commission has denied all allegations, calling SIR a "routine, legally mandated exercise" to keep the voters list pure, updated, and free of duplicates.

The EC maintains that adequate forms have been distributed, staff are being supported, and the process is being carried out uniformly across states.