Now Reading: Stalin urges President to act against CEC over 97 lakh voter deletions
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Stalin urges President to act against CEC over 97 lakh voter deletions
The Story in Brief
DMK president M.K. Stalin has urged President Droupadi Murmu to refer to Parliament a memorandum seeking action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the deletion of 97.37 lakh electors from Tamil Nadu’s electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) conducted in 2025. In a letter dated 26 October, Stalin alleged that the deletions skewed election results and that the CEC took unilateral decisions overriding the other two election commissioners, who described them as unauthorised and illegal.
Stalin also asked the President to refer to the Supreme Court the question of the validity of the deletions, and to direct the Election Commission not to use the post-SIR rolls for future elections. He demanded the restoration of pre-SIR rolls and the cancellation of the SIR exercise in all states. The DMK said an appointment for a delegation was not forthcoming from the President’s office.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both The Hindu and The Times of India report the same DMK memorandum to the President against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, giving near-identical facts. The Hindu leads with the deletion of 97.37 lakh electors and the allegation that two Election Commissioners described decisions as unauthorised, framing the institutional crisis in detail. The Times of India front-loads the procedural point that an appointment was not forthcoming, adding a slightly more process-oriented note. Neither outlet editorialises, both stay close to Stalin’s letter. The balanced reading is that both carry the DMK’s full case, deletion tally, call for parliamentary and Supreme Court reference, and demand to scrap the SIR rolls, without adding independent reporting that confirms or challenges the claims. The next concrete step the sources name is the President’s response to the memorandum, if any.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): thehindu.com (neutral report), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
