Goalpara West

Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid held a press conference at Rajiv Bhawan in Guwahati on Friday and targeted BJP-led central and state governments. He raised serious concerns about Election Commission's independence, NRC process, eviction drives, and alleged fake encounters in Assam.

Khurshid alleged that recent internal decisions in Election Commission were made unilaterally by Chief Election Commissioner by going against the disagreement of two other commissioners. This matter is currently pending before Supreme Court. Quoting Rahul Gandhi, he said no one is above the law, no matter how high a constitutional position they hold.

Targeting BJP's candidate for upcoming assembly by-election and former District Commissioner Devashish Sharma, Khurshid accused him of taking unfair decisions to deport legitimate citizens for political gain. He compared him with Congress candidate and former MLA Sibamoni Bora, whom he credited with clear and honest public service.

Concerns Over NRC and Eviction Drives

On NRC, Khurshid said the process started under late Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi based on Assam Accord with 1971 as the cut-off year. He pointed out that even though Supreme Court-monitored final list was published in 2019, 3.11 crore included individuals are yet to receive National Identity Cards under Rule 13, while over 19 lakh excluded people are still waiting for mandatory rejection slips to file appeals. He warned that any one-sided attempt to change the NRC would amount to contempt of Supreme Court's orders.

Khurshid also expressed sharp anger over eviction drives across Assam. He pointed to recent operations in Goalpara, Golaghat, the Rengma Reserve Forest, and September 2024 eviction in Sonapur's Kachutoli, where two people died in police firing. He said that stopping displaced people from registering as voters at their new locations goes against Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

Data on Police Encounters and Deaths

On law and order, Congress leader shared data placed before courts, stating that 171 police encounters took place in Assam between May 2021 and August 2022. These resulted in 56 deaths, 4 custodial deaths, and 145 injuries. He stressed that extrajudicial killings have no place in a society that follows rule of law.

On the wider national political scene, Khurshid talked about unity within INDIA bloc and called Uniform Civil Code (UCC) a distraction tactic. He said such a code cannot be forced without considering Supreme Court's nine-judge bench rulings and the country's diverse cultural mix.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh raised questions about the Special Intensive Revision process in Goa. He says the election process is not working well after reports showed the Goa CEO wrote to the Election Commission of India eight times in one week. These letters asked to add back 97 voters who the ECINet software removed even though they were eligible.

The opposition is now asking to cancel the exercise. Vijai Sardesai from Goa Forward Party said many local elections are decided by a few votes. He warned that these deletions could change the 2027 assembly results. BJP rejected these claims, saying the opposition is just trying to make election officials look bad.

National voter roll updates

Across the country, the revision exercise removed over 13 crore names from draft rolls in 30 states and Union Territories. Internal reports show two Election Commissioners objected 14 times over the last 10 months about these rules. For details on constituencies like Goalpokhar, Jangoan, or Goalpara West, voters can check current electoral roll information.