NT Reporter
Margao
Electoral roll observer for the state of Goa, Sandip Jacques, IAS, said that concerns raised by political parties and individuals during the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll will be communicated to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Jacques was speaking after convening a
meeting at the South
Goa Collectorate to engage with the public on issues related to the SIR of the electoral roll. The meeting was attended by district
collector and district election officer Egna Cleetus, along with deputy collectors and mamlatdars.
“We have understood the issues raised by the political parties. Apprehensions were specific to certain constituencies and will be addressed by the relevant assistant election roll officers,” Jacques said.
During the meeting, South district collector Cleetus said that nearly 2,000 voter documents are awaiting verification out of a total of 24,497. Jacques urged Cleetus to seek immediate clarification regarding the delay and to take appropriate action.
Cleetus also said that her office accepts only 10 Form 7 submissions from each BLO, despite receiving more than 200 forms.
“Claims and objections must be filed using Form 7.It has been observed that the BJP submitted a consolidated list without Form 7,” alleged Congress leader Savio Coutinho.
He claimed that each BLA (booth level agent) is presenting names of up to 70 individuals, even though the permissible limit is 10 and that the entire list has been uploaded.
“Congress leaders have noted that the BLAs of the BJP are falsely submitting that the residents are shifted. We have visited several residences to ascertain the factual situation and discovered that these voters continue to reside here,” alleged Coutinho.
The BJP representative at the meeting, Amog Arlekar, said that many issues initially raised regarding the SIR have since been resolved.
