He raised concerns over the alleged addition of 6.5 lakh persons as voters in Tamil Nadu under the pretext of “permanently migrated”, calling it an insult to the migrant workers and a gross interreference in the right of the state’s electorate to elect a government of its choice.
Congress attacks Centre alleging ‘hasty anti-India trade deal' after US SC scraps Trump tariffs. (File photo: ANI)
Amid the row over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar, Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday raised concerns over the alleged addition of 6.5 lakh people as voters in Tamil Nadu under the pretext of “permanently migrated”, calling it an insult to the migrant workers and a gross interference in the state’s right of the electorate to elect a government of its choice.
In a social media post on X, Chidambaram said the Special Intensive Exercise is getting curiouser and curiouser, and while 65 lakh voters are in danger of being disenfranchised in Bihar, the latest reports of adding lakhs of people as voters in Tamil Nadu are alarming and patently illegal.
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“Calling them “permanently migrated” is an insult to the migrant workers and a gross interference in the right of the electorate of Tamil Nadu to elect a government of its choice. Why should the migrant worker not return to Bihar (or his/her home state) to vote in the State Assembly election, as they usually do?” he asked.
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He cited the example of lakhs of migrant labourers from Bihar who work across the country but return to the state at the time of the Chhath Puja festival.
“A person to be enrolled as a voter must have a fixed and permanent legal home. The migrant worker has such a home in Bihar (or another state). How can he/she be enrolled as a voter in Tamil Nadu?” the Congress leader further asked.
Chidambaram also took strong exception to the classification of migrant workers as “permanently migrated”, asking how that worker can be considered a voter in Tamil Nadu if his family has a permanent home in Bihar.
The Congress leader accused the Election Commission of India of abusing its powers and trying to change the electoral character and patterns of states. “This abuse of powers must be fought politically and legally,” he asserted.
His scathing remarks come amid growing controversy over the poll panel’s revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. While the Opposition parties have alleged that 65 lakh persons are facing the threat of being disenfranchised in Bihar, the ruling DMK and Congress have expressed concerns over the alleged additions of migrant workers from Bihar to the state rolls.
Meanwhile, the ECI has rejected the Congress leader’s assertions, calling them “misleading and baseless”.
In a statement, the commission said, “There is no need for political leaders to spread false information with respect to the SIR exercise being conducted by ECI at the national level. It has come to the notice of the ECI that such information is being deliberately peddled in the media with a view to obstructing the exercise. As far as voters who have permanently shifted from Bihar to other states and are ordinarily resident in those states, the exact figures can be known only after the SIR has been conducted.”
It further clarified that the SIR exercise has not been initiated in Tamil Nadu. However, the panel said that a person originally belonging to Bihar but residing in Chennai is entitled to be registered as a voter there.
“Similarly, a person originally belonging to Bihar, but is ordinarily residing in Chennai, is entitled to be registered as an Elector in Chennai,” stated ECI, referring to Section 20 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which gives the meaning of “Ordinary Resident”.
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