"Credibility of EC at an all-time low": DMK questions second phase of SIR

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], October 28 (ANI): The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) questioned the Election Commission of India's (ECI) decision to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) across 12 states, saying the credibility of the poll body is "at an all-time low".
DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai on Monday raised concerns about the process and said the electoral body has yet to answer several issues arising from the first phase of SIR in Bihar.
Annadurai highlighted the "unanswered questions" from Bihar and asked how the ECI intends to apply the findings from the SIR conducted there to other states. He also questioned why Assam was omitted from the exercise. The DMK leader further alleged that the ECI was acting as a "citizenship-finding unit" by applying citizenship criteria in the revision process.
"We have seen how ECI has colluded with the BJP and indulged in vote theft. The credibility of the EC is at an all-time low. What has the ECI learnt from its experience in Bihar and how does it implement those findings in these 12 states? Why has Assam been left out of this SIR?... When did SIR become a citizenship exercise? Why is ECI trying to bring in the criteria of citizenship? Is ECI a citizenship-finding unit? If so, how many illegal immigrants were they able to find out in Bihar? There are several unanswered questions," Annadurai told ANI.
The DMK leader also claimed that 65 lakh voters were removed from Bihar's electoral rolls due to the ECI's reluctance to accept certain documents. He questioned why essential documents such as the Ration Card, MGNREGA card, and others that were previously accepted were excluded from the SIR procedure in Bihar.
"In Bihar, 65 lakh voters have been pushed out, they were disenfranchised by the ECI because of their reluctance to accept certain documents...Why have they excluded the other documents? Ration Card, MGNREGA and others which were so long good? Most important question would be, why they are taking 2003 as a cut-off year? Who will be benefited by that?... Why are there no clear guidelines for all of this? Why suddenly the ECI has woken up and is saying that we are going to do this?," he said.
The first phase of the SIR was conducted in Bihar in September ahead of the State Assembly elections.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said that the poll body will conduct the second phase of the SIR in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
According to the Election Commission, printing and training will take place from October 28 to November 3, followed by an Enumeration Phase from November 4 to December 4. The Draft Electoral Rolls will be published on December 9, followed by a claims and objection period from December 9 to January 8, 2026. The Notice Phase (for hearing and verification) will take place between December 9 and January 31, 2026, with publication of Final Electoral Rolls scheduled for February 7, 2026. (ANI)