Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Goa, claiming that those whose names were deleted were given sufficient opportunities to make corrections. He said eight to 10 families who claimed their names had been removed were Portuguese nationals and, therefore, ineligible to remain on the electoral rolls.“If someone is of a different nationality, how can their voting rights remain here? The remaining four to five people were working in the Gulf. They were informed several times to come and fill the form,” Sawant said during an interaction at the Goa Summit at Dona Paula.
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He alleged that several people from Maharashtra and Karnataka had dual voting rights in Goa, while some who owned second homes in the state also wanted to retain their voting rights here.“SIR is nothing new. It keeps taking place to correct the rolls,” he said, dismissing allegations of irregularities in the exercise.Responding to allegations by Congress that BJP had poached its MLAs, Sawant said he had not lured any legislators and that they had voluntarily expressed their willingness to join the party.Referring to Lok Sabha opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent public meeting in Goa, Sawant said, “He read a speech provided to him. He is appealing to PM Narendra Modi. But I think I am enough to debate with him.”“If he is speaking of MLA chori, I have not stolen them. They themselves said to take them in. Last time, 10 were ready and we took them in. We do not have to steal MLAs; they were more than willing to come because they felt there was no leadership (in Congress). If more want to come, we will take in anyone who shows willingness,” he said.On mining, Sawant blamed Congress govt for the boom in illegal mining between 2008 and 2012, saying the industry expanded considerably during that period before coming to a halt following a Supreme Court intervention in 2012.“I am from a mining constituency. I saw what was the state of the people when it shut. My father was a mining machine operator. No one knows about mining better than me,” he said.Sawant said mining operations resumed after 2019 in accordance with Supreme Court directives, with 18 mining leases auctioned so far. Govt had also introduced a dump policy for the first time to revive employment in the sector. “People will get work again. I do not want to say we will not start mining. We have started it, and in a sustainable manner,” he said.
