DMK-led coalition to protest against SIR on November 11

In a joint statement, the parties who are also part of the INDIA bloc accused the Election Commission of India of acting as a “puppet” of the BJP and alleged that the move is seen as depriving people of their voting rights and undermining democracy at its roots. The decision to protest comes while SIR has been underway in Tamil Nadu since November 4

The DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) on Thursday announced that they will protest across Tamil Nadu on November 11 demanding immediate halt of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu. This comes days after the DMK-the ruling party in Tamil Nadu- moved the Supreme Court on November 3 against the SIR exercise in the state happening in the run up to the 2026 assembly elections.

Special Intensive Revision (SIR) officials during the house-to-house verification process to update voter list, the exercise to verify and update India’s voter lists, in Tiruchirappalli. (ANI)

In a joint statement, the parties who are also part of the INDIA bloc accused the Election Commission of India of acting as a “puppet” of the BJP and alleged that the move is seen as depriving people of their voting rights and undermining democracy at its roots. The decision to protest comes while SIR has been underway in Tamil Nadu since November 4, on a day when the first phase of polling in Bihar was underway and after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the ECI and BJP of voter theft in Haryana polls.

“The urgency shown by the Election Commission raises serious doubts. Through SIR, the Election Commission intends to remove the names of genuine voters in Tamil Nadu from the voter list,” the parties said in the joint statement. And once again pointed out that people will face problems while filing the enumeration forms since the exercise coincides with the northeast monsoon season.

They also alleged that the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have still not started distributing enumeration forms in many areas and there is poor coordination between them and Booth Level Agents.

In some places, especially in Tiruppur district, BLOs are forcing voters to complete the enumeration form in a single day, they said. The parties also pointed out that the voters’ list of 2002 and 2005 after the last SIR published on the Election Commission’s website are incomplete and confusing.

“Hence, we appeal to the Election Commission to immediately stop the SIR revision and condemn the commission for being a puppet of the Union BJP government and acting in an authoritarian manner,” the statement said. “Against this, the coalition calls for a massive protest on November 11” at 10 am across all the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu.