Union Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman expressed surprise over the DMK-led protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across Tamil Nadu.
Speaking to reporters in Coimbatore after chairing the BJP District Core Committee meeting, she claimed that 4,379 fake voters were identified in Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s Kolathur constituency, including multiple voter IDs under the same name.
Calling the SIR a regular and essential Election Commission exercise, Nirmala Sitharanan said it aimed to remove bogus and duplicate entries from voter lists ahead of the polls.
She accused the DMK of diverting public attention from its governance failures by protesting a legitimate process, noting that similar revisions had taken place even when the DMK was part of the Central government.
Criticising Opposition parties for their stance, she said they earlier blamed EVMs and agencies like ED and CBI, and are now questioning the SIR. She further accused the DMK of blocking Central schemes meant for women’s welfare and education, recalling that it had once supported the Jallikattu ban.