Team Goemkarponn
VASCO: A political storm appears to be brewing within the BJP in Vasco after Goa Human Resources Development Corporation (GHRDC) vice chairperson and Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) councillor Deepak Naik on Monday evening questioned the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process that led to the deletion of 1,057 voters from his ward ahead of the upcoming municipal elections.
Addressing a press conference, Naik said while he supported the SIR exercise in principle, the scale of deletions in Vasco constituency had raised serious doubts.
“The press conference is only to send a message to the people and the authorities. The SIR process is a positive step by the Government. It has removed names of those with duplicate Aadhaar cards, dual voting records, Portuguese passport holders and even deceased persons. I have supported this initiative. However, Vasco constituency has recorded the highest number of deletions among all 40 Assembly constituencies, with around 11,500 names struck off. That raises questions and creates suspicion that something may have gone wrong,” said Naik.
He stated that over the past two days, nearly 100 residents from his ward had approached him after discovering their names were missing from the electoral roll.
“Many of them are my long-time supporters and even childhood friends. Around 1,057 names have been deleted from my ward alone. Several of these voters submitted valid documents such as passport, Aadhaar card, house tax receipts and residence certificates. They were told their papers were in order, yet their names were removed. This suggests the deletions were not accidental. I am not sure whether officials were misled or acted under pressure,” said Naik.
He pointed out that his ward has approximately 4,000 voters, and the removal of over 1,000 names was disproportionate.
“If 300 or even 500 names were deleted, one could understand. But crossing 1,000 is highly unusual. Even members of original Goan families have found their names missing. What is more concerning is that objections were reportedly raised by persons from outside the ward, including areas like Mangor. When I confronted one such individual, he claimed he had no knowledge of any objections and alleged that his identity card had been misused,” said Naik.
Issuing a warning, Naik said he would not tolerate injustice.
“I want the officials to clarify whether they were pressurised. I am part of the Government and a committed BJP karyakarta, but we will not remain silent if wrong is done, especially in my ward or Vasco constituency. I will take up this issue with our MLA and ensure that genuine voters’ names are restored,” said Naik.
He further appealed to the Collector to extend the appeal period.
“We have been informed that only seven days have been given to challenge the deletions. Considering that nearly 11,000 names have been struck off in Vasco, this time is insufficient. I urge the Collector to grant at least one month so that genuine voters get a fair opportunity to seek justice. If mistakes have been made, they must be corrected without delay,” said Naik.
