Booth Level Officers in West Bengal are demanding central forces’ protection citing growing political threats ahead of the house-to-house voter enumeration starting on Tuesday, even as the Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lodged cross-complaints of intimidation.
Several BLOs flagged safety concerns during training sessions on Saturday. “We have informed the WBCEO’s office of our concerns. The biggest concern is safety. Demands for providing security by central forces were also made,” said a BLO who attended a session at Nazrul Mancha in south Kolkata.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) for voter rolls in 12 states and union territories, including Bengal, begins on Tuesday.
At the same venue, protests erupted as BLOs threatened to boycott work without security and official acknowledgment. “The poll panel officials were silent when we demanded an ‘on duty slip’ to skip school and carry out the duty of a BLO. If the ‘on duty slip’ is not provided, we will have to attend both our office and then carry out the BLO’s job. This is impossible,” said a school teacher BLO who asked not to be named.
A poll panel official in Kolkata acknowledged the concerns. “The BLOs have raised some issues. The ECI officials in New Delhi have been informed. We are trying to address them,” the official said.
{{/usCountry}}A poll panel official in Kolkata acknowledged the concerns. “The BLOs have raised some issues. The ECI officials in New Delhi have been informed. We are trying to address them,” the official said.
{{/usCountry}}EC officials said that any complain with regards to intimidation of BLOs will be taken very seriously and their protection will be ensured. To be sure, BLOs are deployed by the state government.
The TMC complained to the chief electoral officer against Suvendu Adhikari, BJP legislator and opposition leader in the state assembly, for allegedly intimidating BLOs, who are state officials.
“On a recent occasion, during an interaction with the press, Suvendu Adhikari openly threatened BLOs with imprisonment if they didn’t follow instructions. In that address he explicitly invoked the detention of BLOs in Bihar and warned BLOs in West Bengal saying that ‘you will have to spend time in jail’ and that ‘we will provide information and documents to ensure that you go to jail’. These remarks have been widely reported,” TMC said in its letter.
The BJP lodged its own complaint against Girindranath Barman, TMC chairman in Cooch Behar district, for allegedly telling party workers to tie up BLOs arriving without complete voters’ lists.
“BJP requests you to lodge an FIR against Barman for threatening a government employee whilst carrying out his duty. If strict action is not immediately initiated, such incidents of threats will keep on increasing and the possibility of physical attack cannot be ruled out,” the BJP’s letter stated.