CHENNAI / NEW DELHI — The ruling DMK launched a direct political attack on Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, questioning his stance on voter list deletions in Tamil Nadu while he spearheaded a major INDIA alliance demonstration against the Election Commission in New Delhi.
DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai took to social media to challenge the Congress leader’s position on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) across different jurisdictions:
“What is the stand of Rahul Gandhi with regard to the deletions through SIR in Tamil Nadu? Why is he not endorsing Kharge-ji’s statement that all State Governments elected after SIR should be dissolved? Is he afraid of actor Vijay to speak about SIR in Tamil Nadu?”
Tensions and Alliance Friction
The public confrontation underscores the widening rift between former political allies in the southern state:
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Alliance Realignment: Following the breakdown of their electoral partnership, the Congress entered into a post-election agreement, prompting the DMK’s exit from the national INDIA bloc.
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Absence from Strategy Meet: The DMK opted out of the recently convened INDIA alliance strategy meeting designed to coordinate nationwide campaigns against the poll panel, despite expressing general alignment with the core issue.
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Protest in New Delhi: The critique coincided with Rahul Gandhi leading a street march and sit-in near the Election Commission headquarters, accusing the authority of eroding democratic rights under executive pressure.
The Congress leadership and Rahul Gandhi have not issued an official response to the DMK’s remarks.

