Goa Cong MP says he got ECI notice asking him to prove identity to retain name in electoral rolls
Panaji (PTI): Congress' Lok Sabha MP from South Goa Viriato Fernandes has alleged that he received a notice from the Election Commission of India (ECI), in which he was asked to appear before it with documents to prove his identity in order to retain his name in the electoral rolls.
Fernandes, a former Navy officer, said that subjecting an MP to this kind of scrutiny confirms concerns raised by the Opposition that the ECI's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was aimed at deleting the names of legitimate voters to prevent them from participating in the voting process.
The Chief Electoral Office (CEO) in Goa, however, later issued a clarification, saying the MP's enumeration form was placed under the "unmapped" category and a hearing notice was automatically generated and issued to him as mandatory details were not filled in.
In a social media post, Fernandes said, "Received notice from the ECI to appear with documents for proving my identity in order to retain his name in electoral roll. This notice is coming on the backdrop of ECI having subjected every contestant during last Lok Sabha polls in 2024, including me, with the highest level of scrutiny before clearing name for contesting the elections."
"Incidentally, I have been voting since 1989 after becoming eligible, thanks to late PM Shri Rajiv Gandhi Ji's initiative of giving voting rights for 18 year olds," he said.
He said he has travelled to Goa multiple times "from far off places of military posting" during his 26 years of service in the Indian Navy just to cast his vote, be it for Lok Sabha, assembly or zilla panchayat election.
"If a Member of Parliament can be subjected to this scrutiny, wonder the state of a common man, confirming concerns raised (by) Opposition parties and NGOs/Citizens about SIR being carried out by ECI to delete names of legitimate voters and prevent (them) from participating in the democratic process of voting," he added.
In the clarification issued later, the Goa CEO said, "During the course of the SIR, the Booth Level Officer (BLO) of Part No. 19 collected the enumeration form pertaining to the Hon'ble Member of Parliament, Captain Viriato Hipolito Mendonca Fernandes."
It was observed that the enumeration form did not contain mandatory details of the last SIR, including the assembly constituency number, part number and serial number in the electoral roll. As these essential particulars were not filled in, the BLO application could not automatically link the form with the existing electoral roll record, it said.
Accordingly, in the present case, the enumeration form was placed under the "unmapped" category by the system, and a hearing notice was generated and issued automatically as per the prescribed procedure, the CEO said, adding that the matter was under inquiry.
Received notice from ECI to appear with documents for proving my identity in order to retain my name in electoral roll. This notice is coming on the backdrop of ECI having subjected every contestant during last Lok Sabha polls in 2024 including me with the highest level of… pic.twitter.com/BMWrzw26yC
— Capt. Viriato Fernandes (@ViriatoFern) January 7, 2026
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
