DMK’s senior leaders slammed the Congress party for what they called a double standard following the massive anti‑SIR march that drew thousands to Delhi on Monday. The party’s chief, M. K. Stalin, said Congress's support for the Tamil Nadu government—part of its alliance with T. V. K. Karthikeyan’s Tamil Viduthalai Kazhagam—was built on a process they now claim was rigged.
The India‑wide protest, organised by the INDIA alliance, called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid allegations that the State Identification Register (SIR) had been manipulated to favor certain parties. Protesters streamed from Connaught Place to Mandi House, while police deployed a heavy cordon across the capital.
DMK added that Congress’s own leaders, including President Mallikarjun Kharge, had denounced the SIR as illegal, yet the party remained in the Tamil Nadu cabinet. The party also accused Congress of using police to arrest SIR‑protest activists in Chennai the same day Rahul Gandhi met Chief Minister Vijay K. Palaniswami for a coffee meeting.
In response, DMK said it would file a criminal complaint against Congress leaders and demand the central government withdraw its support from the Tamil Nadu government. The next hearing on the complaint is slated for 10 April 2024, according to the DMK spokesperson.