Questions raised over neutrality of AEROs and calls for measures to protect citizens’ rights
Former bureaucrat Elvis Gomes displaying documents relating to SIR process underway in the State.
MARGAO
Former bureaucrat Elvis Gomes has on Friday said that difficulties faced by the voters during the verification stage of unmapped voters have come to the fore as he reminded that the election officials ought to maintain neutral identity while conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
While making a fervent plea to the election officials, particularly the Assistant Electoral Roll Officers (AEROs) to ensure transparency in the ongoing verification of voters process, Gomes, heading the Citizens for Democracy (CFD) forum has warned that citizens will be left with no option than to knock the doors of the judiciary for transparent conduct of the SIR process.
“We know that the same officers drafted for SIR duty work with the ruling politicians. However, while discharging the work of the Election Commission of India, which has initiated the SIR process, the government officials are supposed to maintain neutrality. We have come across several difficulties faced by the voters during the verification process. We request the citizens to contact the Citizens for Democracy for a solution,” he said.
Claiming the SIR process is turning out a conspiracy to remove the voters from the electoral roll when the Election Commission of India is mandated to be proactive to enrol voters, Gomes said practical difficulties faced by the voters, especially the unmapped voters are mounting by the day.
“The unmapped voters are called by the AEROs for hearing. If they are daily wage workers, you cannot expect this category of voters to spend hours at the AERO offices. That’s not all. There are voters who had filled up the enumeration form and headed abroad. You cannot expect these voters to return home and appear before the AEROs. In this electronic age, facilities such as video conferencing could have been deployed before the benefit of unmapped workers currently abroad,” he added.
