Panaji, Jan 12 (PTI) The Election Commission (EC) on Monday clarified that a “system-driven procedure” led to the controversial notice issued to former Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) as part of Goa’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The commission said the incomplete details in his previous enumeration form triggered the notice.
The notice to Admiral Prakash, an 81-year-old Vir Chakra awardee and hero of the 1971 India-Pakistan War, had sparked a social media storm, with veterans and citizens questioning why such a decorated officer was required to “prove his identity” in person.
Officials said the form had now been duly completed and that the former Naval chief was not required to appear now.
In a clarification issued on Monday, Electoral Registration Officer Dr Medora Ermomilla D’Costa said the Booth Level Officer (BLO) for the Cortalim constituency collected the Admiral’s form but found it lacked mandatory particulars from previous revisions.
“It was observed that the said enumeration form did not contain the mandatory particulars relating to the previous SIR, including the name of the elector, EPIC number, name of the relative, name and number of the Assembly Constituency, Part number, and serial number in the electoral roll,” D’Costa added.
In the absence of these essential identification details, the BLO Application was unable to establish an automatic linkage between the submitted enumeration form and the existing electoral roll database, the official pointed out.
As all the fields pertaining to the last SIR were left blank, the system categorised the enumeration form under the ‘unmapped’ category,” the clarification mentioned.
D’Costa said, as per the standard, system-driven procedure, a hearing notice was automatically generated and issued to enable verification of the elector’s details and ensure due opportunity for confirmation of eligibility.
Admiral Prakash, who has lived in Goa since his 2006 retirement, took to social media to highlight the logistical hurdles for elderly citizens and said that he and his wife were asked to appear on two separate dates at a location 18 km away from their residence.
“I neither need, nor have ever asked for any special privileges… but if the SIR forms are not evoking required info, they should be revised,” Prakash, who was Naval chief from 2004 till 2006, posted on X.
He added that the BLO had visited his home three times and could have easily requested the missing documents then. PTI RPS GK BNM SKL NSK
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