In a scathing attack, Tamil Nadu Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin trained guns at the Bharatiya Janata Party of using the Election Commission to find a "shortcut" to power by purging DMK-leaning voters from the electoral rolls. He alleged that the Special Integrated Revision (SIR) was a calculated move to target the votes of minorities, women, and marginalised communities.
According to his figures, approximately 97 lakh votes have been struck off the rolls across Tamil Nadu, with roughly 14 lakh removals in Chennai alone. He urged citizens to verify their names on the voter list before the January 18 deadline, promising that DMK booth-level agents would assist anyone whose name had been missing.
Udhayanidhi also took the opportunity to mock the AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), rebranding the main opposition party as the "Amit Shah Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam." He claimed that Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami has "completely surrendered" to the Union Home Minister, making his claims of protecting minority interests ring hollow. "Please save your party first from the BJP," he quipped, dismissing the AIADMK’s current leadership as being entirely under the thumb of the Centre.
The deputy CM further doubled down on the state's refusal to implement the New Education Policy (NEP), which he framed as a vehicle for Hindi imposition. He noted that while other states have fallen in line to receive central funding, Chief Minister MK Stalin has made it clear that Tamil Nadu will not compromise its linguistic identity, even at the cost of a ₹10,000 crore payout from the Union government. Responding to Amit Shah’s recent comments about targeting Tamil Nadu following the BJP's success in Bihar, Udhayanidhi stated that while those tactics might work in northern states, the followers of "Kalaignar" Karunanidhi would never be intimidated.
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