Chief Minister Vijay Meets Rahul Gandhi Over Coffee The SIR protest storm has stirred up a political potboiler in Tamil Nadu. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has questioned the Congress' "hypocrisy," following the massive anti-CEC protest march carried out by the INDIA bloc in New Delhi. The Dravidian party asks, "how can the Congress occupy cabinet berths in Tamil Nadu"- while in alliance with the same TVK which won the state polls by benefitting from the "fraudulent" SIR process. The DMK accused the grand old party of “shameless hypocrisy” over its protests in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral manipulation through the SIR. Referring to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s remarks that elections were being held illegally and that governments formed through the SIR process should be dissolved, the DMK asked whether the Congress believed the TVK government in Tamil Nadu should also be dissolved. It further questioned whether the Congress was conceding that Chief Minister Vijay’s mandate was based on alleged manipulation of voter lists. The DMK also accused the TVK government of attempting to appease the BJP-led Centre by deploying police to detain activists protesting against the SIR process in Chennai. It pointed out that the detentions took place on the same day Rahul Gandhi visited Chennai to meet Chief Minister Vijay over coffee. Hitting out at the Congress’s continued participation in the Tamil Nadu government, the DMK alleged that the party was contradicting its national campaign to defend the Constitution by remaining in the state Cabinet. It further criticised the state Congress leadership for its alleged silence when activists were detained by the police. Thousands gathered in central Delhi on Monday as Opposition leaders marched to the Supreme Court against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of electoral irregularities. The Opposition parties, along with their supporters, have taken to the streets almost daily this month to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. As per the visuals being shared on social media, the stretch between Connaught Place and Mandi House was packed with protesters. Meanwhile, heavy police security was deployed across the national capital. Opposition leaders converged near the Connaught Place-Barakhamba Road junction for the march, organised under the banner of the INDIA opposition alliance and named "Chalo Delhi - March for Democracy". Sriram Ganesh is a Senior Copy Editor with nearly four years of experience in television news media. Having previously worked as a reporter and desk w... View More