Goa Cong seeks announcement of municipal poll dates, ward reservations

Goa Leader of Opposition (LoP) Digambar Kamat on Sunday said that the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) must not come under pressure of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and announce dates for municipal polls and ward reservations.

In a statement, Kamat said, "The Supreme Court verdict on Municipal Reservations is loud and clear. The Directorate of Municipal Administration and the State Election Commission must act with complete neutrality and independence. I want to warn the DMA and SEC not to come under any pressure of Super Powers of the BJP government and declare the Ward Reservations and Election dates on merit."

The Congress leader also alleged that despite strong objections and warnings from the opposition, the BJP government adamantly tried to bulldoze the democratic process and went ahead with the reservations of wards in various municipal areas benefiting a select few.

"The BJP government deprived the OBC, SC, ST and Women of their constitutional right of contesting elections in the local self-help bodies from Reserved Wards but ultimately, justice prevailed and the government fell flat on its face for all its misdeeds," he added.

"The order of the Supreme Court has made it very clear that the State Election Commission needs to be neutral, unbiased and independent. The Directorate of Municipal Administration must apply the scientific methodology while reserving the wards. Any deviation from the same will once again lead to another legal battle," Kamat added.

( With inputs from ANI )

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