NEW DELHI: Congress Lok Sabha member from South Goa Viriato Fernandes has alleged that he received a notice from the Election Commission of India (ECI) asking him to appear before it with documents to prove his identity in order to retain his name in the electoral rolls.
Fernandes, a former Navy officer, is the first member of either House of Parliament asked to prove his identity as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.
Talking to TNIE on phone from his Goa residence, Fernandes said that subjecting an MP to this kind of scrutiny confirms concerns expressed by the Opposition that the ECI’s SIR was aimed at disenfranchising legitimate voters and denying them the right to participate in the voting process.
“I received a notice from the ECI to appear with documents for proving my identity in order to retain my name in the electoral rolls. This notice is coming in the backdrop of the ECI having subjected every contestant during the last Lok Sabha polls in 2024, including me, with the highest level of scrutiny before clearing the names for contesting the elections,” he told TNIE.
“SIR, it appears, is an exercise just opposite to the spirit in which ex-PM Rajiv Gandhi reduced the voting age limit. Instead of providing the right to vote, the ECI is asking for proof from people to establish if they are legitimate voters,” the MP said.
He said he has travelled to Goa multiple times “from far off places of military posting” during his 26 years of service in the Indian Navy just to cast his vote, be it for the Lok Sabha, assembly or zilla panchayat elections.
“If a Member of Parliament can be subjected to this scrutiny, I wonder what is the state of a common man. This confirms concerns raised (by) Opposition parties and NGOs/Citizens about SIR being carried out by ECI to delete names of legitimate voters and prevent (them) from participating in the democratic process of voting,” Fernandes said.
TNIE made attempts to reach out to poll panel officials regarding the MP's claim, but none was available for a response.