Goa MP, a Kargil veteran, gets SIR notice; CEO slams BLO for goof-up

PANAJI: Kargil War veteran and South Goa MP, Capt Viriato Fernandes, received a notice from Election Commission as part of SIR of electoral roll to appear with documents to prove his identity, prompting state chief electoral officer (CEO) to blame the BLO for dereliction of duty leading to auto generation of the notice.

Goa CEO Sanjay Goel said a showcause notice will be issued to the BLO to see whether he made attempts to get the details from the MP.




“I’m told that in his enumeration form, the MP did not mention the assembly constituency and the part number of the 2002 electoral roll, on the basis of which mapping is done. The BLO should have scrutinised this and sought the details from him. It was a lapse on the BLO’s part,” he said.

“The system automatically generates notices to unmapped voters. At that stage too, it was missed... It’s not too late... the details will be sought from the MP and his name will not be deleted,” Goel added.

Fernandes said the notice came despite EC subjecting LS poll candidates in 2024, including him, to the highest level of scrutiny.

“If an MP can be subjected to this scrutiny, wonder about the state of a common man. It confirms concerns raised by opposition parties and NGOs/citizens about SIR being carried out by EC to delete names of legitimate voters and prevent them from participating in the democratic process of voting,” Fernandes said.

The Lok Sabha MP added that he has voted since 1989 and has travelled to Goa multiple times from his military postings during his 26-year tenure in the Indian Navy just to cast his vote.

The EC notice received by Fernandes notice states, “In view of no match/likely incorrect match with the electoral roll prepared during previous SIR, you are requested to appear before the undersigned on Jan 27, 2026, from 9am-12pm.... along with original documents prescribed by EC to retain your name in final electoral roll.”