DMK backs Rahul protest despite Tamil Nadu dispute
The DMK has defended Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, a day after accusing him of ignoring alleged electoral roll irregularities in Tamil Nadu.
The contrasting statements, issued on Tuesday and Wednesday, exposed differences within the opposition over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and the political fallout from the breakdown of the Congress-DMK alliance in Tamil Nadu.
Senior DMK leader TKS Elangovan on Wednesday supported Gandhi’s campaign demanding Kumar’s removal, arguing that citizens were entitled to challenge government actions and question the conduct of constitutional authorities.
“How can elections be fair if Gyanesh Kumar, holding a high post, is anti-democratic? He should definitely be removed,” Elangovan said.
He maintained that Gandhi had exercised his democratic right by participating in demonstrations against the Election Commission. Elangovan also accused the central government of attempting to prevent the Congress leader from protesting against Kumar.
His intervention followed sharp criticism from fellow DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai, who had questioned Gandhi’s silence over alleged large-scale deletions from Tamil Nadu’s electoral rolls.
Annadurai, writing on X on Tuesday, accused Gandhi of adopting inconsistent positions towards the electoral revision exercise. He questioned why the Congress leader had challenged the Election Commission nationally without expressing comparable concern about developments in Tamil Nadu.
The DMK spokesperson argued that the revision had removed substantial numbers of voters from the state’s electoral lists, raising questions about the legitimacy of the subsequent electoral process.
The allegations remain disputed, with the Election Commission maintaining that revisions are intended to identify duplicate, deceased and otherwise ineligible voters rather than exclude legitimate electors.
Annadurai also questioned Gandhi’s position on remarks attributed to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge concerning governments elected following the revision exercise.
He asked why Gandhi had not explicitly endorsed Kharge’s position while continuing to campaign against the Election Commission over alleged electoral irregularities.
The criticism reflected tensions between the two parties following their separation ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Congress ended its longstanding partnership with the DMK and supported actor-politician C Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, which subsequently formed the state government.
That political realignment left the DMK and Congress on opposing sides of Tamil Nadu’s electoral contest, despite their continuing agreement on several national issues concerning electoral administration.
Annadurai suggested that Gandhi’s reluctance to challenge developments in Tamil Nadu was connected to Congress’s relationship with Vijay’s party. His accusation was political rather than an independently established explanation of Gandhi’s position.
Elangovan’s subsequent remarks did not directly address those allegations or withdraw the criticism levelled by Annadurai.
Instead, he concentrated on the broader controversy surrounding Kumar and the right of opposition leaders to demonstrate against the Election Commission.
Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, participated in demonstrations in New Delhi on Tuesday and Wednesday alongside opposition lawmakers demanding Kumar’s resignation.
The protesters accused the Election Commission of permitting electoral roll revisions that could disenfranchise eligible voters and influence electoral outcomes.
Police detained Gandhi and several other opposition figures during demonstrations after protesters attempted to proceed towards locations where authorities had restricted gatherings.
The Congress leadership has demanded greater transparency over the revision process and accountability for alleged irregularities affecting voter registration.
The Election Commission has rejected allegations of political bias, maintaining that electoral roll verification is a statutory exercise designed to improve the accuracy of voter records.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has also dismissed opposition accusations that the revision was designed to favour the ruling party.
Questions surrounding the exercise have reached the Supreme Court, where challenges concerning voter deletions and electoral safeguards have prompted judicial scrutiny.
Opposition parties have argued that eligible citizens must not lose voting rights because of documentation difficulties, administrative errors or inadequate opportunities to contest deletions.
Election authorities maintain that verification procedures include mechanisms for objections and corrections, although critics question whether those safeguards have operated effectively.
The disagreement between Annadurai and Elangovan illustrates the distinction between the DMK’s objections to electoral administration and its criticism of Congress’s political choices in Tamil Nadu.
The contrasting statements, issued on Tuesday and Wednesday, exposed differences within the opposition over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and the political fallout from the breakdown of the Congress-DMK alliance in Tamil Nadu.
Senior DMK leader TKS Elangovan on Wednesday supported Gandhi’s campaign demanding Kumar’s removal, arguing that citizens were entitled to challenge government actions and question the conduct of constitutional authorities.
“How can elections be fair if Gyanesh Kumar, holding a high post, is anti-democratic? He should definitely be removed,” Elangovan said.
He maintained that Gandhi had exercised his democratic right by participating in demonstrations against the Election Commission. Elangovan also accused the central government of attempting to prevent the Congress leader from protesting against Kumar.
His intervention followed sharp criticism from fellow DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai, who had questioned Gandhi’s silence over alleged large-scale deletions from Tamil Nadu’s electoral rolls.
Annadurai, writing on X on Tuesday, accused Gandhi of adopting inconsistent positions towards the electoral revision exercise. He questioned why the Congress leader had challenged the Election Commission nationally without expressing comparable concern about developments in Tamil Nadu.
The DMK spokesperson argued that the revision had removed substantial numbers of voters from the state’s electoral lists, raising questions about the legitimacy of the subsequent electoral process.
The allegations remain disputed, with the Election Commission maintaining that revisions are intended to identify duplicate, deceased and otherwise ineligible voters rather than exclude legitimate electors.
Annadurai also questioned Gandhi’s position on remarks attributed to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge concerning governments elected following the revision exercise.
He asked why Gandhi had not explicitly endorsed Kharge’s position while continuing to campaign against the Election Commission over alleged electoral irregularities.
The criticism reflected tensions between the two parties following their separation ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Congress ended its longstanding partnership with the DMK and supported actor-politician C Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, which subsequently formed the state government.
That political realignment left the DMK and Congress on opposing sides of Tamil Nadu’s electoral contest, despite their continuing agreement on several national issues concerning electoral administration.
Annadurai suggested that Gandhi’s reluctance to challenge developments in Tamil Nadu was connected to Congress’s relationship with Vijay’s party. His accusation was political rather than an independently established explanation of Gandhi’s position.
Elangovan’s subsequent remarks did not directly address those allegations or withdraw the criticism levelled by Annadurai.
Instead, he concentrated on the broader controversy surrounding Kumar and the right of opposition leaders to demonstrate against the Election Commission.
Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, participated in demonstrations in New Delhi on Tuesday and Wednesday alongside opposition lawmakers demanding Kumar’s resignation.
The protesters accused the Election Commission of permitting electoral roll revisions that could disenfranchise eligible voters and influence electoral outcomes.
Police detained Gandhi and several other opposition figures during demonstrations after protesters attempted to proceed towards locations where authorities had restricted gatherings.
The Congress leadership has demanded greater transparency over the revision process and accountability for alleged irregularities affecting voter registration.
The Election Commission has rejected allegations of political bias, maintaining that electoral roll verification is a statutory exercise designed to improve the accuracy of voter records.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has also dismissed opposition accusations that the revision was designed to favour the ruling party.
Questions surrounding the exercise have reached the Supreme Court, where challenges concerning voter deletions and electoral safeguards have prompted judicial scrutiny.
Opposition parties have argued that eligible citizens must not lose voting rights because of documentation difficulties, administrative errors or inadequate opportunities to contest deletions.
Election authorities maintain that verification procedures include mechanisms for objections and corrections, although critics question whether those safeguards have operated effectively.
The disagreement between Annadurai and Elangovan illustrates the distinction between the DMK’s objections to electoral administration and its criticism of Congress’s political choices in Tamil Nadu.