Actor and Kamal Haasan, founder-president of the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), on Wednesday raised what he described as an “imminent concern” over the forthcoming elections in Tamil Nadu, citing the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Making his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha during the motion of thanks on President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament, Haasan said voters were eager to exercise their franchise but were instead facing scrutiny over their eligibility.
‘Living dead’ remark draws attention
Referring to the SIR process, Haasan remarked that Bihar had become “a land of many living dead” on paper and warned against such a situation spreading elsewhere. “We want to cast our vote, but commissions are checking our right to vote,” he said, alleging that errors in spellings and addresses were leading to wrongful exclusions.
He argued that while spelling mistakes are often forgiven in modern literature and on the internet, the Election Commission of India appeared to take a far stricter view. Haasan warned that if corrective steps were not taken, Tamil Nadu could see a large number of eligible voters wrongly struck off electoral rolls.
Call for democratic vigilance
Stressing that democracy does not allow for “conquest”, Haasan said no government is permanent and urged institutions to ensure that democratic processes do not trample on citizens’ rights. He called for course correction to safeguard electoral fairness.
During his speech, Haasan also reflected on his journey from cinema to Parliament and spoke of his grounding in Tamil language and history, recalling the influence of his teachers, including C N Annadurai. He urged lawmakers to protect language, culture and constitutional rights while strengthening India’s democratic fabric.