Coimbatore, Nov 11 (IANS) Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday questioned the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for protesting against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, asking why the party never raised concerns when the revision was not conducted for nearly two decades.

Speaking to reporters in Muthalipalayam, Coimbatore, after attending a series of public events, Sitharaman said the SIR is a constitutional process mandated by the Election Commission of India (ECI) under Articles 324 and 329.

“It is surprising that the DMK is holding protests across Tamil Nadu as if the BJP has suddenly introduced the SIR. This is a routine and necessary exercise conducted multiple times since 1952,” she said.

Claiming voter list revisions were undertaken in 1952-56, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1983-84, 1987-89, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2003, and 2005, Sitharaman pointed out that the DMK had earlier been part of the Congress alliance during several of those exercises and had never objected.

“Why are they protesting now? Even Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin seem unaware of what SIR really means,” she remarked. The Finance Minister accused the ruling party of misleading the public and undermining the credibility of constitutional institutions.

“The Election Commission’s role is to ensure a fair and accurate voter list. The DMK’s opposition appears to be a diversion to hide its administrative failures,” she said, adding that no citizen will lose their voting rights as door-to-door verification by Polling Level Officers (PLOs) is already underway.

Highlighting irregularities uncovered during the ongoing revision, Sitharaman said that in the Kolathur constituency alone, which is represented by Stalin, 4,379 fake voters were identified, including 933 with false addresses, several holding multiple voter ID cards, and even 30 cards under a single address. In total, 5,964 fake entries were detected during verification.

“Across the State, seven lakh people have names in two places, 20 lakh are fake voters, and 35 lakh have migrated. Is it wrong to remove such 68 lakh names?” she asked.

Dismissing allegations that the SIR is a conspiracy, Sitharaman said, “No one opposed it during the Congress-DMK years. The DMK is now protesting only to politicise a legitimate exercise.” She also reaffirmed that the Income Tax Department’s actions were based on evidence, with “not a single case proven false so far.”

Reiterating that the BJP does not interfere in the internal affairs of any party, Sitharaman urged the DMK not to “weaken the authority of the Election Commission” and to allow the democratic process to function freely.

–IANS

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