Ex-Navy chief asked to confirm identity under SIR; authorities to reach out to him
Panaji (PTI): The Election Commission of India has issued a notice to former chief of naval staff Admiral Arun Prakash, asking him to attend a meeting to establish his identity as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Admiral Prakash, who has been settled in Goa since his retirement, said SIR forms should be revised if they are not “evoking” the required information.
A senior official said his details do not figure in the voter list last updated in 2002 and that he falls under the “unmapped” category.
Some X users, however, wondered what more the SIR team needs since the ex-Navy chief’s PPO (Pension Payment Order) and life certificate are already available in government databases.
“This is what is happening in most such cases. Admiral Prakash falls in the unmapped category,” South Goa District Collector and Returning Officer Egna Cleetus told PTI on Sunday.
Cleetus said she will go through the Navy veteran’s enumeration form on Monday. The authorities will reach out to him, she added.
During the ongoing SIR, Admiral Prakash (retd), a Vir Chakra awardee for his role in the India-Pakistan War of 1971, has been asked to remain present before the electoral officer to establish his identity after generating the “hearing notice”.
As the notice has sparked a discussion online, Admiral Prakash on Sunday wrote on X, “I neither need, nor have ever asked for any special privileges since retirement 20 yrs ago. My wife and I had filled the SIR forms as reqd & were pleased to see our names figured in the Goa Draft Electoral Roll 2026 on the EC website. We will, however, comply with EC notices.”
“May I point out to @ECIVEEP that (a) if the SIR forms are not evoking reqd info they should be revised; (b) the BLO visited us 3 times & could have asked for additional info; (c) we are an 82/78 yr old couple & have been asked to appear on 2 different dates 18 km away!!” he said in another post.
Responding to the post, Lt Col T S Anand (retd) wrote, “I believe Bugs in software may have caused, but if such a notice does come every citizen who has things in order can just go and show it, nothing wrong. So in case of Adm Arun Prakash Sir his PPO/Veteran Card is proof enough and for protocol the SIR team can go to his home.”
X user @LancerFlying, who identifies himself as Op Vijay and Op Meghdoot veteran, said, “His, YOURS and mine, PPO and life certificate is already on the Govt database. What more is needed by the SIR team than punch a few keys on the keyboard and access proof? Commonsense is missing, that is what is wrong!!”
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Parents fear uncertainty after Karnataka govt rules out age limit relaxation for Class 1 admission
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has ruled out any relaxation of the minimum age limit for admission to Class 1 beginning with the academic year 2026-27. Following the refusal, a group of parents continues to press for leniency.
Parents of children who fall under the age of six by a small margin on the cut-off date have met Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and senior officials from the Department of School Education and Literacy to request an exemption. School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa said that the government will not change its decision, as reported by Deccan Herald.
According to the minister, children must be six years old by June 1 to be eligible for admission to Class 1. beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. He noted that the previous relaxation was a one-time measure that was clearly confined to the 2025-26 academic year.
“If such requests are entertained every year, it will never end. While granting relaxation last year, it was explicitly stated that it applied only to one academic year. From 2026-27 onwards, the rule will be strictly implemented,” Bangarappa was quoted by DH.
Parents argue that the rigid cut-off is affecting children who are short by a few days. One parent was quoted by DH as saying that his daughter would be 12 days short of completing six years on June 1. Such parents would be forced to repeat a year despite being academically ready. Others pointed out that children promoted from LKG to UKG during the 2025-26 academic year are now facing uncertainty over their transition to Class 1.
Few parents also recalled that earlier, admissions were allowed for children aged between five years and 10 months and six years. Parents saw it as a more practical approach, with children born in November and December being disproportionately affected.
The issue of age criterion goes back to a government order issued in July 2022. The order mandated six years as the minimum age for Class 1 admission. Parents of children already enrolled in pre-primary classes, protested against the order and the state deferred implementation, announcing that the rule would come into force from the 2025-26 academic year.
After renewed pressure, the government granted a one-year relaxation for 2025-26, citing the large number of students affected and in consultation with the State Education Policy Commission. While announcing the exemption, the minister had stated that no further concessions would be allowed.
