BICHoLIM: Living in villages which border the state could at times become a boon in diguise, especially during the elections. This, it seems, has come true for the voters of Sal village.
In a startling revelation, a panchayat candidate from Sal in Bicholim has stated that more than 40 residents from the Goa- Maharastra border have dual voting cards and exercise their voting rights both in Goa as well as in Maharashtra. Speaking to Herald, Meghasham Raut from Sal who is also contesting the panchayat elections has raised a strong objection to this and has also asked the Bicholim Mamlatdar to look into the matter. These 40- odd voters are staying in the Tillari rehabilitation area which is on the border of Goa and Dodamarg- Maharashtra. “ It is a huge scam. There is one person who is doing all these for money,” Raut claimed. “ About 40 people from this village have their names registered in Maharashtra and as well as in Goa. They are voters of the Sawantawadi constituency as well as Bicholim constituency. “ This is in gross violation and we have already informed the Bicholim mamlatdar,” Raut claimed. It may be stated that the Sal panchayat through a letter dated April, 1, 2017 had already submitted a letter with the names and the serial number of the voters recorded in Bicholim and Sawantawadi constituency but no action WHAT DOES THE RULE SAY I f a person moves his/ her residence to another assembly constituency then he/ she does not remain a valid voter of previous constituency. The person has to register afresh as voter in the new assembly constituency. Hence the new card is issued and old card becomes invalid has been taken so far. “ I will surely go to court. I have also requested the CM and the local MLA to look into the matter,” Raut stated “ there are about 598 voters In the ward and at times even a single vote could make a huge difference and here there are about 40 bogus votes/ voters.” " When we asked the mamletdar, he told us that the voting list has already been made and he would go as per the same document," Raut concluded.
