Congress leader P. Chidambaram accused the Election Commission of misusing its power and altering the voting pattern in states after reports emerged that 6.5 lakh migrant workers have been added to Tamil Nadu's voters' list. Chidambaram said the move must be opposed legally and politcally.
Questioning the outcome of special intensive electoral roll revision in Bihar, Chidambaram said, "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."
In a post on X, the former home minister called the move 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?" he asked.
Questioning the basis of Commission's actions, "A person to be enrolled as a voter must have a fixed and permanent legal home. The migrant worker has such a home in Bihar (or another state). How can he/she be enrolled as a voter in Tamil Nadu? If the migrant worker's family has a permanent home in Bihar and lives in Bihar, how can the migrant worker be considered as 'permanently migrated' to Tamil Nadu?"
"The ECI is abusing its powers and trying to change the electoral character and patterns of states. This abuse of powers must be fought politically and legally," Chidambaram said tagging Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in the post.
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Chidambaram's allegation comes amid Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'vote chori' charge against the Commission. Gandhi has accused the Commission of tampering with the electoral rolls in favour of the BJP. However, EC called the charges misleading.
Congress and other opposition parties have strongly opposed intensive electoral roll revision in poll-bound Bihar. They charged the exercise would lead to mass disenfranchisement of 65 lakh voters.