The booth level officers (BLOs) engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter roll in West Bengal are staging a huge protest outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), alleging excessive work load. They allege the work pressure is killing the workers.
A massive crowd is seen outside the CEO’s office amid tight security there. The BLOs are protesting along with posters and slogans, many of them sitting on roads.
In the visuals shared by ANI, a BLO can also be seen lying on the road, perhaps unconscious, while another protester puts water on his face and neck to ensure the person is fine.
BLOs’ deaths sparks row
Since the announcement of the SIR exercise in 12 states and Union Territories (UTs), there have been reports that the BLOs are working under immense pressure to meet the deadline of Dec 4. The enumeration stage has to end by Dec 4, as per ECI schedule on SIR.
However, this had reportedly led to an increase in work load, allegedly forcing the BLOs to take their own lives. A BLO earlier was found dead in Kerala, followed by another in Rajasthan.
Days later, two women BLOs reportedly died by suicide in West Bengal, fuelling the fire against the exercise. Two BLOs also died in Madhya Pradesh, and their families have alleged that the deceased were being assigned work in the night as well. A BLO has been missing in the state for over a week now.
In Lucknow as well, a BLO casualty has been reported.
TMC charges against ECI, says SIR being done in ‘opaque manner’
In West Bengal, the ruling TMC has called out the poll panel for the manner in which the SIR is being conducted. In a post on X, the TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP said that while the party is not opposed to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), it is strongly opposed to the “rushed, haphazard and opaque manner” of the SIR.
“Is cruelty essential for doing SIR? Across Bengal and the rest of India, BLOs tasked with SIR are dying of exhaustion or by suicide. A process that should be given a few months is being hastily done in 30 days,” Gokhale said.
“We’ve been clear: we have no problem with the purpose of SIR, which is to clean up the voter list. We are, however, strongly opposed to the rushed, haphazard, and opaque manner in which it is being done in Bengal,” he added.
“SIR duty should not be a death sentence for BLOs,” he said, adding, “SIR should not become a pretext for deleting legitimate voters.” Gokhale pointed out that the SIR was not done in Delhi, Haryana and Maharashtra, the three states that went to polls after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“Why then is the ECI rushing to do it within 30 days in Bengal?” he further asked.
Multiple petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court against the SIR, and the top court is set to hear the same, most likely in the first week of December.