6 months ago
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The Congress party’s Tamil Nadu portion closed ranks with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) to situation the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls successful the Supreme Court arsenic a “de novo citizenship verification process” which runs the hazard of disenfranchising lakhs of people.
K. Selvaperunthagai, president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, represented by advocator Sriram Parakkat, has filed a abstracted petition wrong days of the DMK assailing the law and ineligible validity of the SIR declared by the Election Commission of India (EC) connected June 24 and October 27.
Both petitions person argued that the SIR workout compromised the principles of cosmopolitan big franchise and escaped and just elections. The plea by Mr. Selvaperunthagai pointed retired that a Special Summary Revision of the electoral rolls successful Tamil Nadu concluded successful January 2025, aft a regular statutory workout that had addressed deletions owed to death, migration, and different reasons. The revised rolls were published and had been periodically updated ever since.
The petition demanded that the EC amusement the statutory backing for the SIR exercise.
“It [SIR] introduces procedures chartless to the statutory strategy and was ne'er notified successful the Official Gazette oregon placed earlier Parliament, contrary to Section 28(3) of the Representation of the People Act. The full workout frankincense lacks ineligible force,” the Congress person argued.
Without immoderate evident “exceptional circumstances oregon recorded reasons to warrant a caller verification of this magnitude”, the plea said the determination seemed to beryllium motivated by an impulse to “impose a de novo citizenship verification process successful the lack of immoderate proven irregularity.”
“The ECI has assumed powers reserved for the Union authorities nether the Citizenship Act, 1955, by enabling section officers to measure citizenship. The determination of citizenship, being a quasi-judicial function, cannot beryllium summarily undertaken by Electoral Registration Officers,” the petition said. Like DMK, the Congress person referred to the “unilateral imposition” of the intensive workout without consultation with State governments arsenic an “erosion of the national structure.”
“Tamil Nadu’s relation has been reduced to a specified executing agency, contempt the measure’s important implications for its electorate,” the petition said.
Online forms
The EC has made a proviso connected its authoritative website (https://voters.eci.gov.in) for the convenience of electors to capable the SIR enumeration signifier online, the Chief Electoral Officer said connected Sunday.
Electors tin log successful astatine the portal utilizing their registered mobile fig oregon EPIC number, and person authentication by entering the OTP received connected their registered mobile number. After logging in, they tin prime the enactment disposable nether the enactment ‘Fill Enumeration Form’.
All electors who person registered their mobile numbers and whose names lucifer successful some electoral rolls and Aadhaar records are requested to marque usage of this facility, the CEO added.
(With inputs from Dennis S. Jesudasan successful Chennai)
