Kerala SIR: LDF to take out march to CEO office on February 2 over anomalies

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) will take out protest marches to the Chief Electoral Officer office in Thiruvananthapuram and election offices in districts on February 2 to correct the anomalies reported in the voters’ list published after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

LDF organizer TP Ramakrishnan told the media here on Saturday that there were allegations that SIR was an indirect attempt to prepare a National Population Register. “The ongoing SIR activities in Kerala are a proof that these accusations are true. As many as 24 lakh voters have been removed from the lists. A total of 19.32 lakh people have been notified to submit documents to prove their citizenship,” he said.

Mr. Ramakrishnan said those distributed leaflets included people who voted in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. In many such cases, trial procedures had not yet been completed. He claimed that voters were asked to submit documents showing date of birth and place of birth, even of their parents.

Mr. Ramakrishnan said that the names of many ineligible people were included in the draft voter list and a large number of eligible voters were excluded. Many people from other states who did not work here were also included in the list. The final list is expected to be announced on February 21. Mr. Ramakrishnan demanded that voters be given at least two weeks to correct the anomalies in the list.

Meanwhile, answering questions, the LDF organizer claimed that there was no sense of disinterest towards the State government. This, he claimed, was evident from the reactions from people during the ongoing home visit campaign conducted by Communist Party of India (Marxist) activists and leaders to gauge public perception of the government. “If people point out any flaws in the functioning of the government, we are always ready to correct them. We do not need any public relations agency to seek public opinion,” Mr. Ramakrishnan added.