TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Even as Panchayat Minister Laxmimant Parsekar has promised to look into the Dramapur-Sirlim Sarpanch and deputy sarpanch election episode, officials in the know suspect the hands of the powers that be behind the unprecedented decision to postpone Friday’s election for want of a presiding officer.
“What has happened at Dramapur-Sirlim will be definitely looked into. I will try to gather facts on the absence of the Presiding officer and circumstances leading to the election postponement”, Parsekar told Herald.
Herald understands from reliable sources that the powers that be were even opposed to the holding of election scheduled on Friday today since the Dramapur-Sirlim panchayat have slipped into the hands of the opposition. It is learnt that the decision to hold the elections today had not gone down well with the powers that be.
Sources said that though Panchayat Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar was strongly in favour of holding elections for the post of Sarpanch and deputy Sarpanch, mystery still remains as who was behind to scuttle the election process.
Questions are being raised whether the Presiding officer Anuradha Sarang fell sick only at 9.30 am since the BDO Manuel Barretto claimed that he received a call from her at that time. And, whether the BDO had no time left with him to make a replacement as he claimed that he had proceeded to Panjim for work relating to the electoral roll revision.
Meanwhile, the four-member majority group in the Dramapur-Sirlim panchayat has decided to submit a memorandum to the Salcete BDO demanding a probe into the Friday’s episode resulting in the postponement of the election process.
