MARGAO
Asserting that the State Election Commission has completely failed in discharging its Constitutional duty of creating awareness amongst the voters ahead of the elections, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) Chief Girish Chodankar has charged the Commission of discouraging the people of Goa at the behest of the ruling BJP from casting their votes in the ensuing December 12 Zilla Panchayat polls.
Addressing the media, the GPCC Chief hoped the SEC will immediately launch an awareness programme of its own to inform the people about the December 12 elections and get maximum participation of the people.
He wondered whether the SEC is deliberately not resorting to an awareness campaign to prevent the people of Goa, who are upset with the government policies on employment and environment, from coming out on polling day and cast their vote against the current dispensation.
“Around 80 per cent of Goa will go to the polls on December 12. But if one looks around, poll awareness is totally absent. Neither the candidates are allowed to campaign nor the SEC is conducting any awareness exercise in the constituencies to get the voters out on polling day,” Girish said.
The GPCC Chief further pointed the SEC has remained a silent spectator to the government’s misuse of official machinery to the advantage of candidates fielded by the ruling party. “The Chief Minister, ministers and ruling party MLAs are on the field campaigning for their candidates, but the Congress leaders are not even allowed to have meetings with booth workers to ensure people come out on the polling day,” he said.
He also sought to know whether the SEC has put any SOP in place for the safety of the election staff as the Commission has decided to allow symptomatic and asymptomatic patients to exercise their franchise in the last hour of polling.
GPCC Vice-president Altinho Gomes said this is the first time that the SEC has not even called for a meeting with representatives of the political parties ahead of the election.
Meanwhile, South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha has appealed to the people to vote for the Congress candidates in the ZP elections.
