Team Goemkarponn
CANACONA: Raising serious concerns over the deletion of voters’ names from the electoral rolls, former Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes on Thursday alleged that the BJP is “clandestinely targeting Catholics and minorities” in an attempt to deny them their voting rights. He questioned whether the ruling party intends to conduct elections or “govern the State and the country without elections”.
Fernandes met Canacona SDM and Deputy Collector Prataprao Gaonkar and demanded that hearings related to Form-7 objections be held in respective panchayat areas, or that electoral officials visit the homes of senior citizens and bed-ridden voters against whom applications have been filed seeking deletion of their names from the voters’ list.
When Fernandes pointed out that most notices were issued to Catholic voters, Dy Collector Gaonkar clarified that over 95 per cent of the Form-7 applications in Canacona constituency pertain to Catholic electors. However, he said the complaints fall under five distinct categories.
“These include voters who are very much on the rolls and have even voted recently; those temporarily outside the State or country for employment; those who have migrated for long periods; persons who have given up Indian citizenship and taken foreign citizenship; and those who have acquired foreign citizenship without disclosing it,” Gaonkar said.
He further stated that voters in the first two categories would be given proper hearings through their next of kin or relatives, while the remaining three categories would be thoroughly investigated and dealt with as per procedure. Gaonkar also disclosed that around 750 foreign nationals in the Canacona constituency have given up Indian citizenship.
Clarifying the process, the Dy Collector said that visiting houses or conducting hearings at panchayat offices is not permitted under Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines. Instead, field reports will be obtained through the respective Booth Level Officers (BLOs). He added that notices are issued to both the complainant and the elector concerned, and if the complainant fails to respond, the responsibility lies with the elector to defend the case.
CMC Councillor Shubham Komarpant and former Loliem-Polem Sarpanch Santan Da Costa accompanied Fernandes while submitting a memorandum to the Dy Collector, alleging selective filing of Form-7 applications to delete the names of Catholic voters from the electoral list.
