Left parties step up TN protests over 'deletion' of 13 crore voters, demand CEC's removal

Left parties intensified their agitation across Tamil Nadu on Thursday, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over what they called the systematic disenfranchisement of 13 crore voters through the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

CPI(M) Tamil Nadu state secretary P. Shanmugam led a demonstration near Washermanpet in Chennai, alleging that the SIR process "is being weaponised to systematically delete targeted voters from the electoral rolls." He said the Commission had abandoned its duty to grant voting rights to all eligible citizens and demanded that the CEC be removed immediately, saying he did not have "the slightest moral right to remain in office for even a single minute."

At Nungambakkam, CPI(M) politburo member Vasuki laid out four demands: the CEC's removal, a halt to the SIR exercise, restoration of deleted names, and reconstitution of the EC's selection committee. "An Election Commission with the authority to protect rights has morphed into a commission that strips 13 crore people of their voting rights," she said.

The Left campaign follows a report by the Indian Express that two election commissioners had recorded objections on 14 occasions over the preceding ten months on voter registration and the SIR exercise. The Commission has rejected the charge, maintaining that all decisions received the unanimous approval of all three commissioners and that the exercise is intended to improve the accuracy of electoral rolls.

On Wednesday, an alliance of opposition parties said it would launch nationwide protests, including a march to the Election Commission office on October 6 and a rally in New Delhi on November 1, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying the parties would "ensure that the people who have destroyed Indian democracy are punished." The EC has said differing views within the commission are normal and all its actions were lawful.