Panaji: AICC General Secretary Sachin Pilot on Friday alleged that a large number of voters had been deleted from electoral rolls in Goa and across the country, questioning the manner in which the ongoing electoral roll revision was being conducted.
Addressing a press conference in Goa, Pilot claimed that around 1.4 lakh to 1.7 lakh voters had been deleted in the state and alleged that about 13 crore names had been removed from electoral rolls across the country.
He described the exercise as “illegal” and “unconstitutional” and alleged that the Election Commission’s functioning had become “non-transparent”.
Pilot also questioned the functioning of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that decisions concerning electoral rolls were being taken without adequate consultation with the other Election Commissioners.
He alleged that changes to the Election Commission’s IT system had enabled the CEC’s office to add or delete voters centrally, bypassing the role traditionally played by Electoral Registration Officers.
“The law says there are three Election Commissioners, and decisions have to be taken either by consensus or by majority. But one Chief Election Commissioner has arbitrarily deleted voters,” Pilot alleged.
His remarks came amid a political dispute over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Pilot alleged that the exercise was being used to selectively remove voters and accused the BJP-led governments and the Election Commission of undermining voting rights.
He compared the exercise to demonetisation, saying the country was now witnessing “votebandi”.
Pilot also targeted the BJP government in Goa, alleging a “complete collapse of law and order” and a nexus between builders, politically connected individuals and sections involved in land-related activities.
He alleged that land-use policies were being changed repeatedly to protect the interests of certain people and claimed that there was a lack of transparency and a level playing field in the state.
“Unemployment, misuse of land policies and corruption are massive issues,” Pilot said, adding that people were also concerned about law and order.
He alleged that influential people received preferential treatment when they were accused of wrongdoing.
“There are two laws here — one for the common Goan and another for powerful and well-connected people,” he said.
Pilot said the Congress would soon prepare its roadmap and manifesto for the forthcoming elections, adding that the party’s ongoing outreach programme, “Goy Rakhon Yatra”, had generated a response among the people.
He expressed confidence that the Congress would secure a majority in the next election, saying people were tired of governments allegedly seeking votes by dividing them on religious, caste and linguistic lines.
Pilot also defended the Congress’ right to challenge the government and said the party would raise its concerns through democratic means.
He said the Congress’ outreach campaign was aimed at directly connecting with voters and understanding their concerns.
