Chennai, Oct 23:
Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai on Thursday questioned the Congress over its criticism of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, asking whether the party had remained inactive when the revision work was under way.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a regional women’s development conference organised by We The Leaders and the Tharagai women’s organisation in Krishnagiri, Annamalai accused the Congress of raising objections to the electoral rolls only after the elections and the formation of a new government. He described the criticism as political drama and questioned why the party had not taken up the issue during the revision process.
Annamalai said that if irregularities were suspected in the voter list, political parties should have actively participated in the fieldwork and raised their concerns at the appropriate time.
He also clarified that We The Leaders would not extend political support to CJP, while maintaining that every organisation had the right to raise issues concerning the public. He said arrests or other action against CJP members should follow due legal procedures and should not be driven by political vendetta.
At the conference, Annamalai emphasised women’s empowerment, economic independence and greater political representation. He said women should be given opportunities to participate in decision-making and lawmaking, noting that their electoral participation was not adequately reflected in political representation.
He also encouraged children to learn multiple languages, saying multilingual skills would help them adapt to different cultures and improve their future employment opportunities. He cited the use of Tamil, Telugu and Kannada in Krishnagiri district as an example of linguistic diversity.
Annamalai criticised governments for spending heavily on publicity and ceremonial events, arguing that genuine economic growth and employment opportunities should take priority over announcements that offered little lasting benefit.
The event also saw financial assistance of Rs 1.48 crore distributed through government and private banks to eight women’s self-help groups. Annamalai said 25 additional women’s self-help groups would be formed over the next six months.