'Tool to harass poor': Congress hits out at ECI for SIR in Tamil Nadu

New Delhi, Oct 25 Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Saturday launched a fierce attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that the Special Intensive Review (SIR) drive was being conducted as a "tool to harass the poor" and manipulate voter lists under the BJP's influence.

Earlier on October 23, the ECI announced that it had held one-on-one interactions with the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of poll-bound states and Union Territories -- Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal -- as part of a two-day conference at the India International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Management (IIIDEM) in New Delhi.

Reacting sharply to the development, Tagore said, "SIR is a tool to harass the poor and remove the votes of the elderly. This is being done under the direction of the BJP and Amit Shah. Now, they are planning to do this in Tamil Nadu as well. This is not being done to correct the voter list but to remove innocent voters and harass the public. The ECI does not want to work with honesty."

The Congress leader also reacted to Union Minister for Food Processing Industries and LJP(RV) chief Chirag Paswan's remarks against the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Paswan had accused the RJD of exploiting the Muslim community for votes while denying them significant political representation, urging the community to "break free from the bonded vote bank mindset."

Questioning LJP(RV) chief's stance, Tagore said, "I don't know why Chirag Paswan said this, while he is with Amit Shah, an anti-Muslim, all along. While being with such people, you are talking about the Muslim voters -- this is something you should think about. Now that he has become a Union Minister, everyone knows how he has given up on his principles just to get that post."

Asserting that the Mahagathbandhan would form the next government, Tagore added, "When Mahagathbandhan wins, we will take along all communities together. There will be a Deputy Chief Minister from the Congress as well, and then the party will take the appropriate decision after the elections. Chirag Paswan should avoid making such statements, and the Minority community should be aware that Chirag is making these remarks while being in alliance with anti-Muslims."

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