New Delhi: AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), routed in the recent Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, today (June 16, 2004) demanded a "massive enquiry" into the "historic sabotage" of electoral rolls allegedly by State Government employees, which it claimed resulted in deletion of at least 43 lakh genuine voters.

"It is the specific allegation of the AIADMK that the State Government employees having been unreasonably perturbed by the strong measures taken by the Government have joined with Opposition parties like DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and others and have done every sort of mischief in deleting the names of voters belonging to the AIADMK," a party delegation told the Election Commission (EC).

The delegation led by P G Narayanan, leader of AIADMK Parliamentary Party, sought to impress upon the Commission that "there need not be any involvement of Government employees in future" in the work of preparation of electoral rolls and wanted unemployed educated youth be given the task with the help of independent bodies.

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"This suggestion may have to be implemented on a war footing in the overall interest of democracy wherein personal vengeance of a handful people who are anti-people can never be allowed to influence the conduct of elections or the outcome of the elections", a memorandum signed by AIADMK Election Wing Secretary and former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said.

The demand from the AIADMK has come at a time when the EC has itself ordered an enquiry by directing Kerala Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala), P J Thomas, to go into the matter following complaints about large-scale deletions in voters lists.

The delegation said, "The Government employees are following a policy of lethargic functioning while preparing electoral rolls, verifying voters and revising the rolls and exhibiting only their partisan attitude".

Besides, the AIADMK said each and every Government employee is a member of some union or association affiliated to political parties. "As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, Government employees are affiliated to the parties opposed to the AIADMK", it said.

"An intensive, door-to-door verification and inclusion of voters can be conducted throughout Tamil Nadu with an independent agency so as to make democracy meaningful, failing which it could only be presumed that the EC itself is not interested in adhering to the democratic culture of this country", the memorandum said.