"Misleading, baseless": ECI fact-checks P Chidambaram's migrant voters claim

New Delhi [India], August 3 (ANI): Refuting the claims made by senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission of India on Sunday said that assertions made by the former finance minister on the "inclusion" of "migrant voters" in Tamil Nadu are "misleading" and "baseless".
The poll body responded to P Chidambaram's claim that there has been an addition of approximately 6.5 lakh migrant workers to the electoral roll in Tamil Nadu. ECI pointed out that "false figures" are being floated about "enrollment of 6.5 lakh voters" in Tamil Nadu.
In a post on X, ECI said, "There is no need for political leaders to spread false information with respect to the SIR exercise being conducted by ECI at the national level. It has come to the notice of the ECI that such information is being deliberately peddled in the media with a view to obstructing the exercise. As far as voters who have permanently shifted from Bihar to other states and are ordinarily resident in those states, the exact figures can be known only after the SIR has been conducted."
The poll body stated that as of now, the SIR exercise has not been initiated in Tamil Nadu. "It is therefore absurd to connect the SIR exercise in Bihar with TN. Such peddling of false statements with respect to SIR should be avoided."
Election Commission also stated that a person originally belonging to Tamil Nadu, but is ordinarily residing in Delhi, is entitled to be registered as an Elector in Delhi.
"Similarly, a person originally belonging to Bihar, but is ordinarily residing in Chennai, is entitled to be registered as an Elector in Chennai," stated ECI, referring to Section 20 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which gives the meaning of "Ordinary Resident".
Earlier in the day, the Senior Congress leader had criticised the ECI over the 'reports' of the addition of approximately 6.5 lakh migrant workers to Tamil Nadu's electoral rolls and called it "alarming" and "patently illegal."
In a post on X, Chidambaram wrote," The SIR exercise is getting curiouser and curiouser While 65 lakh voters are in danger of being disenfranchised in Bihar, reports of "adding" 6.5 lakh persons as voters in Tamil Nadu is alarming and patently illegal Calling them "permanently migrated" is an insult to the migrant workers and a gross interference in the right of the electorate of Tamil Nadu to elect a government of its choice Why should the migrant worker not return to Bihar (or his/her home state) to vote in the State Assembly election, as they usually do? Does not the migrant worker return to Bihar at the time of the Chhath puja festival? A person to be enrolled as a voter must have a fixed and permanent legal home."
Amid the claims over the deletion of names from the voters' list in Bihar, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday said that not a single claim or objection has been filed by any political party since the publication of the draft electoral rolls on August 1. (ANI)