A massive protest is being held outside the office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal in Kolkata by booth level officers (BLOs), against the alleged excess workload of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state. They claim the pressure is immense and the timeline is short.
BLOs in Bengal have been raising their voice after a few allegedly died by suicide due to the pressure of the workload required in the entire exercise.
The matter became serious after a BJP delegation led by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari arrived at the election commission’s office. The BLOs raised slogans and even were seen pushing police barricades outside the office. Despite this, the BJP delegation moved inside the office.
‘We accept BLO duty’
The protesting BLO said they do not complain of the SIR work or the duties assigned, but there should be a planning and method for the allocation of the duties.
“We accept BLO duty, but there should be a way. There is unlimited pressure,” one of the protesters said. The agitators, including state government employees, raised slogans against ECI at the CEO office.
The security outside the poll body’s office has been increased.
BJP blames TMC for BLOs deaths
Meanwhile, BJP MP and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar accused the TMC for the BLOs deaths in West Bengal, alleging that the party did not release their remuneration.
“… The TMC should be asked why they did not provide the Rs 18,000 grant that every BLO was supposed to receive… If they are so concerned about the BLOs, they should have received their money on time. They (TMC) are pressurising the BLOs because they did not appoint data entry operators…” he said.
“As a result, the BLOs are forced to handle data operations which are not their responsibility. Mamata Banerjee herself has created pressure on the BLOs. When the CM threatens from the stage that the BLOs should keep in mind they are state government employees, how would they not be afraid? If someone had died, it is because of this…” he added.
On Sunday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) also said the payment as decided by the commission, should be released by the state to the BLOs.
