AAP Questions Election Commission Over Timing of SIR and Zilla Panchayat Polls in Goa.

New Delhi/Panaji: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Goa in-charge and former Delhi minister Atishi Marlena on Thursday questioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the decision to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls simultaneously with the upcoming Zilla Panchayat (ZP) elections in Goa.Speaking after a meeting with the ECI alongside AAP Goa chief Amit Palekar, Atishi said that holding both processes at the same time would prevent political parties from effectively monitoring the voter list revision.> “The SIR process has begun in Goa, and the draft roll will be released on December 9. But the Zilla Panchayat elections are also scheduled for December 13. The reservation announcement for these polls has just been made, and in a few days, the Model Code of Conduct will come into effect. Naturally, when elections are underway, all political parties will be occupied with campaigning and will have no time to oversee the SIR process,” Atishi said.Questioning the urgency, she added that since more than a year remains before the next Goa Assembly elections, the SIR could have been conducted after the ZP polls.Atishi also pointed out gaps in the SIR guidelines, noting the absence of provisions for citizens whose names are missing from the draft rolls.> “The current SIR guidelines only allow objections against wrongful inclusions, but there is no remedy for missing names,” she said.The AAP leaders urged the Election Commission to reconsider the timing of the SIR to ensure a transparent and participatory voter list revision process in Goa.