Chennai, Nov. 2 -- A meeting of 44 political parties convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday adopted a resolution to approach the Supreme Court against the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, terming the exercise "unacceptable" and "illegal".

The all-party gathering, chaired by Stalin, resolved to urge the Election Commission (EC) to halt the SIR until after the 2026 Assembly elections. The participants argued that the revision was being implemented despite the Supreme Court not yet delivering its verdict on a similar case from Bihar. "The SIR is unacceptable. It should be conducted only after removing the shortcomings and with adequate time after the 2026 Assembly elections," the resolution stated.

Stalin, who also heads the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), said the meeting's decision was unanimous. "Since the EC has not accepted our request to hold the SIR after the 2026 Assembly polls, by giving adequate time to carry out revisions without confusions and doubts, we have passed a resolution in today's all-party meeting to approach the Supreme Court," he said in a statement issued after the deliberations.

The Chief Minister accused the Election Commission of acting "in haste" and claimed the revision was being pushed with an intention to "murder democracy and take away the voting right of the Tamil Nadu people." He added that the meeting was not politically motivated but aimed at "guarding the dignity of democracy".

Of the 44 parties that attended, those present included the Congress, MDMK, VCK, CPI, CPI(M), Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam, the Indian Union Muslim League, and the Dravidar Kazhagam. The DMDK, founded by the late actor Vijayakanth, also participated despite not being part of any alliance. However, the AIADMK and BJP were not invited. Actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), S Ramadoss's PMK, and T T V Dhinakaran's AMMK were invited but did not attend.

The resolution adopted at the meeting accused the Election Commission of functioning like a "puppet of the Union government" and displaying "authoritarian tendencies", ignoring objections from most political parties across the country. It further said that implementing the SIR in 12 states, including Tamil Nadu, without fixing the irregularities observed in Bihar, amounted to "snatching away the people's right to vote" and "digging a grave to completely bury democracy."

Citing legal provisions, the resolution stated that under Section 169 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, any such revision must be preceded by a formal notification in the Union government's gazette. The parties contended that the EC had bypassed this step and issued the notification unilaterally, calling the move unconstitutional.

It also objected to the Election Commission's October 27 notification, which mentioned Aadhaar as an acceptable identification document in what the parties described as "an unclear manner." The resolution said the language used in the notification raised "strong suspicions" about the EC's intentions and lacked transparency. "It appears that by creating such confusion, the Election Commission is planning to remove the names of genuine voters from the list," it alleged.

The parties demanded that the EC rectify these shortcomings, follow the Supreme Court's guidelines, and conduct the SIR only after the 2026 Assembly elections in an impartial and transparent manner.

Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu are scheduled to be held by April 2026.

"Since the Election Commission does not accept these views, there is no other way but to approach the Supreme Court to uphold the voting rights of all Tamil Nadu voters," the resolution concluded. It also resolved that political parties in the state would jointly file a petition before the Supreme Court to "save electoral democracy".

Stalin thanked the parties that attended and urged those that stayed away to "discuss the SIR and take steps to protect democracy."

Meanwhile, the main opposition AIADMK and actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, both of which were not part of the meeting, criticised the DMK-led government over the issue.

Reiterating his party's stand, Stalin said democratic forces had a duty to "thwart any threat to the people's right to vote." He claimed that similar exercises in Bihar had led to irregularities and alleged that the same pattern was now being extended to other states, including Tamil Nadu. "Adequate time to carry out revisions in an atmosphere free of tension is essential," he said, warning that the current move appeared to be "a trick to delete genuine electors from the rolls."

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.