A delegation of Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) MPs, including Union Ministers from the DMK and its allies the Congress and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), met Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla here on Thursday and sought by-election to the Pennagaram Assembly constituency next month.
The delegation, led by DMK Parliamentary party leader T.R. Baalu and including TNCC president K.V. Thangkabalu and VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan, expressed surprise over the delay in announcing the poll, taking into account complaints of mass deletions of names from the electoral rolls lodged by some smaller parties, which are allies of the AIADMK.
In a petition given to the EC, the delegation, including Union Ministers A. Raja, S.S. Palanimanickam and D. Napoleon, wanted to know why the EC, which had originally scheduled the poll for January 20, deferred it citing Pongal festival on the AIADMK’s plea.
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They alleged that the Commission kept silent when parties such as the PMK had asked the poll body to postpone the elections.
Later, Mr. Baalu told journalists that a constitutional body such as the EC should function impartially and not postpone the poll citing revision of rolls just because some smaller parties made a baseless allegation.
Mr. Thirumavalavan said it was not proper for the poll body to announce the poll (for January 20) and rescind it based on individual complaints. He alleged that the AIADMK and its allies, which had been repeatedly routed in the by-elections, were afraid of facing the election. The EC has already announced that the decision on the new poll date will be made after reviewing the report of the State Chief Electoral Officer on the situation in the constituency and after the publication of the revised electoral rolls with the cut-off date fixed as January 1, 2010 for inclusion of names.
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