PANAJI
Alleging that 850 Goa police personnel, who are currently on election duty in Uttar Pradesh, have not cast their votes in the recently held state assembly polls, the Congress has now demanded that the poll authorities facilitate postal ballots for them in order to fulfill their right to vote.
Congress general secretary Sunil Kawthankar also said that if the Election Commission of India had the financial wherewithal to spend money on advertising and conducting election-related innovation, they should also facilitate voting facilities for the India Reserve Battalion personnel who are currently on duty in the northern poll-bound state.
“Obviously due to their sudden posting, they were unable to apply for postal ballots. In such situations, it must be the responsibility of the Election Commission to ensure that these police personnel are not denied their right to franchise,” Kawthankar said in his letter to Chief Electoral Officer Kunal. “The ECI has spent lakhs of rupees on newspaper, TV and outdoor advertisements, and also on pink booths and other attractions to get people to vote. It is unlikely the EC doesn’t have resources to ensure that all 850 police personnel get to vote and submit their postal ballot in a secure manner without any scope for tampering,” Kawthankar also said.
Kawthankar further said, that if the ECI had sent them to UP for poll-related security, then it was duty-bound to ensure that the 850 cops from Goa cast their vote in the state polls here.
“On behalf of the Indian National Congress, I urge you to take necessary steps to ensure all Goa police personnel in UP exercise their franchise. Since the ECI has sent them to UP, the ECI is responsible to enable or deny them the right to vote,” Kawthankar said.
Goa witnessed nearly 80 percent voting for the state assembly elections which were held on February 14.
