Goa Assembly Sees Heated Debate Over Voter Roll Deletion Proposal
Opposition members in the Goa legislative assembly launched sharp criticism against Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday. The heated exchange occurred during a calling attention motion concerning electoral roll management.
Controversial Suggestion Sparks Immediate Backlash
The controversy began when Mormugao MLA Sankalp Amonkar suggested linking death registration with automatic deletion from electoral rolls. Opposition legislators immediately voiced strong objections to this proposal.
They expressed deep concern about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. According to opposition members, approximately one lakh voters have already been removed from Goa's electoral lists. This number represents an entire assembly constituency's worth of voters.
The opposition demanded an extension of time for voters to challenge deletions from the electoral rolls. Chief Minister Sawant responded by assuring the assembly he would request such an extension from the Election Commission.
Specific Concerns Raised by Opposition MLAs
St Andre MLA Viresh Borkar highlighted the urgent need for verifying unmapped voters. He explained that many legitimate voters might be temporarily unavailable for various reasons.
"Some people work on cruise liners," Borkar stated. "A mother might be staying with her married daughter. Families could be traveling. These voters need adequate time to challenge their removal from the rolls."
Borkar warned that without a time extension, twenty to thirty percent deletions could occur, primarily affecting Goan voters. He expressed concern about Booth Level Officers having discretionary power in deletion decisions.
"BLOs can apply 'personal satisfaction' to cases," Borkar cautioned. "If an MLA applies pressure, this discretion could be misused to delete names improperly."
Constituency-Specific Impacts Highlighted
Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai reported that his constituency experienced some of the highest voter deletions in the state. He described Amonkar's calling attention motion as having "dangerous implications" despite appearing innocent.
"Approximately 4,400 voters were deleted from my constituency," Sardesai revealed. "I typically win by about 1,500 votes. The government spent 1.58 crore rupees on SIR. What did we achieve?"
The Fatorda MLA pointed out that the Election Commission itself acknowledges lacking mechanisms to identify foreign citizens or duplicate voters. He warned that the chief minister's proposal would create permanent automated deletion pipelines between death registration and electoral rolls.
"This means no notice to families and no hearing," Sardesai emphasized. "Families would only receive acknowledgement after deletion occurs. SIR has already broken families - husbands recorded but wives not. Now the government wants to freeze this situation."
Sardesai suggested these deletions disproportionately affect people unlikely to vote for BJP. He argued the burden of proof shifts to voters once deletions occur through SIR.
"The right to vote is becoming a bureaucratic privilege," the Fatorda MLA concluded.
Broader Systemic Issues Identified
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao raised additional concerns about the revision process. He claimed Booth Level Officers give oral, informal instructions about required documents.
"Documents required for SIR are not being uniformly applied," Alemao stated. "The government spends crores on advertisements but fails to provide clarity when citizens urgently need it."
The opposition leader questioned the statistical validity of deletion numbers. "Accuracy shouldn't come at the cost of simply removing voters," Alemao argued. "These deletion figures seem statistically impossible unless something went terribly wrong."
Government's Defense of the Revision Process
Chief Minister Sawant defended the Special Intensive Revision, explaining its purpose was ensuring "one citizen, one vote." The government aims to eliminate duplicate and non-citizen voters from electoral rolls.
"Names of deceased individuals remained on rolls for up to twenty years," Sawant noted. "This affects voting percentage calculations. Some people possess up to five voter cards."
The chief minister maintained that the government's intentions focused solely on creating accurate, legitimate electoral rolls for Goa.
