Team Herald
MARGAO: Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat has demanded that the delimitation of Zilla Panchayat constituencies be undertaken by the State Election Commission. Kamat has warned that failure to do so would invite a lot of court cases. “Even my party may move the courts over the matter,” he said.
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Briefing media persons here, he said that the inordinate delay in the delimitation causes a lot of hardships and recalled that during the municipal elections in 2017 some buildings from a housing society were in one ward while others were in another and even flats in the same building were put in different wards.
“The worst case was where the parents were shown in one ward and their son and daughter-in-law living in the same flat were show in another ward,” he said highlighting the arbitrary manner in which delimitation was done.
“I demand that the delimitation of panchayat, zilla panchayat and municipal constituencies be done by the State Election Commission and I have even raised this matter in the recently concluded assembly session,” he said adding that Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho had assured him that the file would be sent to the commission.
He informed that in a petition filed in 2015, the State Election Commission filed an affidavit stating that it was willing to undertake the work of delimitation of constituencies if asked to do so. “Hence, it will be fair to ask them to do the delimitation,” he said.
Elections on party symbol: Kamat informed out that the executive committee of the party has decided to contest the ZP elections on party lines. “Those who are objecting to it now should have attended the meeting and expressed their reservations,” he said.
Besides, he said that the decision has also been taken at the national level and hence dismissed the people who are objecting to it now.
Replying to a question on people getting elected on Congress platform and then jumping to BJP, he quipped “we are the most democratic party”.
He evaded the question on whether Congress would tie up with some other party in areas like Priol and Madkai where it does not have much presence.
South Goa Congress Committee President Joe Dias, who was also present for the briefing, said former ZP member Domnic Gaonkar’s entry into the Congress that was scheduled on Saturday has been postponed only because the zilla panchayat constituencies have not been demarcated, yet.
It may be recalled that Domnic Gaonkar had contested the 2012 ZP elections successfully with support from the BJP, but presently the constituency is represented by his wife Fatima Gaonkar.
