DMK Rejects Congress Protests, Backs CJP on SIR

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) said it would oppose the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls while declining to join Congress-led protests, and voiced support for the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and student movements opposing the exercise. The position was set out in resolutions at a meeting of DMK members of Parliament chaired by party president M. K. Stalin in Chennai on Saturday, October 17. The party resolved to petition President Droupadi Murmu, citing what it described as a lack of transparency in the SIR process. It also reiterated its demand for the dismissal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and called for future elections to use paper ballots rather than electronic voting machines. The resolutions criticized Congress for its approach to the SIR and questioned why it had not taken the same position in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The DMK also criticized Congress’s relationship with its Tamil Nadu ally, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), and asked why TVK and its leader, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, had not spoken against the SIR or joined a related petition in the Supreme Court. These points were presented as the DMK’s allegations and...