Representatives of Tamil Nadu’s ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led alliance and the Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) walked out of an all-party meeting over the special summary revision (SSR) of the electoral roll with chief electoral officer Archana Patnaik on Friday, demanding chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
“If it was not conducted, the TVK would have won in more than 160 [of 234] seats in the April 23 assembly polls. Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)’s legal wing secretary I Paranthaman asked what measures the ECI has taken as over 7.4 million have been removed in Tamil Nadu. Minister Kumar added that the Election Commission of India (ECI) must ensure elections are conducted with utmost fairness.
Tamil Nadu minister CTR Nirmal Kumar said the TVK has opposed the SIR from the beginning. He said there have been massive errors in the SIR. “In continuation of that, demanding that he take responsibility, we sought chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation,” minister Kumar said after staging the walkout. He said the demand for CEC Kumar’s resignation is gaining strength. “After presenting our views to Patnaik, we staged a walkout from the meeting,” Paranthaman said.
