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BJP, TMC clash outside CEO’s office in Kolkata over SIR; police deploy barricades
BJP North Kolkata district president Tamoghna Ghosh accused the TMC of sending “goons” to disrupt the SIR process.
Tension flared outside the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office in Kolkata late night on Monday as BJP and Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers clashed over the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
Police set up barricades to keep the two groups apart while hundreds of protestors gathered at the main gate of the Election Commission office, escalating an already volatile situation.
While talking to news agency ANI, BJP North Kolkata district president Tamoghna Ghosh accused the TMC of sending “goons” to disrupt the process.
“These are TMC goons and are here to commit hooliganism… Look at their behaviour and actions. These people are not BLOs… They had come here to the CO office at midnight to commit tampering. We stopped them,” he said.
Meanwhile, visuals from the spot showed large groups surrounding the Election Commission gate, shouting slogans and demanding intervention from senior officials. Police teams maintained a tight cordon to prevent the BJP and TMC groups from coming face-to-face.
Also Read | SIR in West Bengal: 4 more BLOs fall ill in past two days, admitted in hospitals
Protesters demand answers
Among the protestors were several schoolteachers who said they were demonstrating in solidarity with Booth-Level Officers (BLOs), “I am a teacher. I am not a BLO. We are here in support of the BLOs…We are here to meet the Election Commission officers. Our representatives are inside the office. Till the time the officers don't meet us, our protest will continue here,” one protestor told ANI.
Another teacher from Murshidabad alleged that the SIR, which usually takes two years, was being compressed into two months. “The SIR process… is being conducted within two months. Crores of voters were deleted from the voter list in Bihar. The same conspiracy is happening here,” the protestor said, adding that thousands of BLOs were prepared to return if officials “don’t listen”.
BLO workload complaints intensify
Earlier in the day, BLOs engaged in the SIR process held another demonstration outside the CEO’s office over what they described as “excessive work pressure” and “unmanageable workload”. Their attempt to enter the office led to scuffles with police, reported news agency PTI.
The unrest comes amid multiple reports of BLOs falling ill, and at least three deaths, according to PTI, since the enumeration phase began on November 4. Two of the deaths were by suicide and another occurred under “unnatural circumstances”, officials have confirmed.
Also Read | BLO found dead in Bengal's Nadia, family claims SIR work-related stress
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has openly blamed the Election Commission for what she described as “unplanned implementation” of the SIR and conducting it in “express haste”.
Also Read | Truly alarming, says Mamata Banerjee as another BLO dies by suicide, blames SIR
CEO calls BLOs the ‘real heroes’
Responding to the concerns, West Bengal CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal acknowledged the heavy strain BLOs were under on Monday.
“We are receiving complaints that the BLOs are under pressure and some are falling ill. We have asked the District Magistrate to assist them. There are also reports that some BLOs have died. We have asked the DMs of four districts to send the police report and the post-mortem report,” he said, reported ANI. “Their report will be available in a day or two, only after which we can take action.”
Calling their work “very hard”, Agarwal said BLOs were “putting their level best” into the SIR exercise and described them as the “real heroes” of the ongoing revision.
