Activist wants Parrikar's name deleted from voters' list

A city activist lawyer in his complaint to the election authorities here Monday sought removal of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's name from the Panaji voters' list, alleging that the former chief minister never resided at the address mentioned in it.

Aires Rodrigues, in his complaint to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), alleged that Parrikar's name was enrolled in the Panaji assembly constituency at Serial No.412 in Part No.8, and his residential address was shown as House No.157, opposite Pharmacy College in Panaji, when, in fact, he has never lived at the stated address.

Parrikar hails from Mapusa, a trading town located 12 km north of the capital, but has been elected as a legislator from the capital, Panaji constituency, for five times in a row from 1994 to 2012.

In discussions in the state legislative assembly, Parrikar, on several occasions, has also said he resides with his son in an apartment block in a neighbouring constituency.

"The said Prabhu Manohar Gopalkrishna Parrikar has never resided at the above mentioned address and/or is neither the lawful owner or lawful lessee of the said premises," the complaint alleged.

The complaint also demanded action against personnel of the chief electoral officer who allowed the alleged misinformation to creep into the official election roll, a key document in an election process.

Rodrigues has also sought initiation of action by the ERO under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, against the former chief minister.

While refusing to come on record, poll officials have acknowledged the receipt of the complaint, but said a preliminary inquiry has not been started yet.

"We have just received a copy of the complaint an hour back. We are in the process of assessing it before going ahead with an inquiry," an official said.

The BJP has dismissed the allegation made by Rodrigues, claiming it "below the party's dignity to comment on such baseless charges".