NEW DELHI: Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) have given standing instructions to ensure the welfare of government employees working under their administrative supervision, sources in the Election Commission of India (ECI) said.
The clarification comes amid growing uproar over a number of deaths and suicides among Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in states where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is under way.
They said that in line with the instructions issued to them, the CEOs are looking into the cases of reported deaths and seeking detailed reports from the respective District Collectors while investigating the cases.
The sources said, the question of SIR work-related pressure should not be there, as each of the BLOs is given responsibility of distributing and collecting enumeration forms not more than 1,000, as for nearly 51 crore voters, there are five lakh BLOs in the field.
However, since cases of deaths and suicides are being reported from West Bengal, Kerala, Gujarat and Rajastan, “the CEOs and the District Returning Officers (DROs) are made responsible to ensure welfare of government employees working under their supervision,” the sources said.
During the past few days, cases of several deaths have been reported from different states.
Ruling parties in the opposition-ruled states have demanded postponement of the exercise, as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharde termed the SIR as an “imposed oppression” and a “deliberate ploy under which citizens are being harassed”, which is “reminiscent of demonetisation and the COVID-19 lockdown”.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that chaos has been “created” across the country in the name of the SIR of electoral rolls.
“The result? Sixteen BLOs have lost their lives in three weeks. Heart attacks, stress, suicide - SIR is not a reform, it is an imposed oppression,” he said in a post in Hindi on X.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shot off a letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar recently urging him to take immediate corrective measures to prevent loss of lives owing to SIR-related stress and work pressure.
“Now, I am compelled to write to you as the situation surrounding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has reached a deeply alarming stage. The manner in which this exercise is being forced upon officials and citizens, it is not only unplanned and chaotic, but also dangerous,” the West Bengal CMO told the CEC in the letter.