Congress objects to transfer of civil servants in Goa post-SIR announcement: ‘Complete violation of EC guidelines’

Representative image

The Congress unit in Goa raised objections to the “mass” transfer of officials by the state government a day after the Election Commission (EC) announced the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in nine states and three Union Territories, including Goa.

Congress objected to the transfers claiming that these were in violation of the poll body's guidelines, according to a report by The Indian Express.

“It has come to our attention that several deputy collectors, chief officers and other key officials directly associated with the electoral process have been transferred. Most of these officers are, or will be, involved in the conduct of the SIR, which is already underway as per the ECIs directions. Such mass transfers, executed after the announcement of SIR are in complete violation of the ECIs guidelines, which prohibit any transfer of officers connected with electoral duties without prior approval of the Election Commission of India,” Amit Patkar, the president of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee, said, stated in a letter to Goa’s Chief Electoral Officer on Tuesday, IE reported.

34 junior scale officers of Goa Civil Service were transferred by the Goa government on Monday. The transfer was described as “routine”, citing that some officers had been awaiting posting.

On Tuesday, Goa Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Goel held a meeting with the representatives of several political parties to discuss the preparations for SIR. At the meeting, Goel said some electoral registration officers (EROs) were among those who were reshuffled. “We will take up the issue with the state government,” Goel told The Indian Express.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday welcomed the Election Commission of India's (ECI) Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls being undertaken across 12 states and Union Territories including Goa, saying it would help strengthen the integrity of the electoral process.

In a post on X, Sawant said a "clean and transparent voter list is the bedrock of democracy," emphasising the importance of maintaining accurate and up-to-date rolls that include only genuine and eligible voters.