TMC MP demands protection for BLOs, voter rights safeguards, and SIR transparency, decrying its rushed rollout as exhausting workers and risking legitimate deletions.
Three BLO suicides, 31 stress deaths statewide, party blames ECI's two-month timeline for a three-year task, calls for training and extended deadlines.
BJP accuses TMC of NRC scare tactics to protect infiltrators, Congress dubs SIR a fraud plot, as unions protest and mysterious voter purges fuel disenfranchisement fears.
ECI Should Protect BLOs, Safeguard Voters' Rights: TMC MP
BJP accuses TMC of NRC scare tactics to protect infiltrators, Congress dubs SIR a fraud plot, as unions protest and mysterious voter purges fuel disenfranchisement fears.
Summary
Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale on Monday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to demonstrate true independence by protecting beleaguered Booth Level Officers (BLOs), upholding voters' rights, and ensuring full transparency in the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. In a pointed post on X, Gokhale clarified that while TMC supports the SIR's intent to cleanse voter lists, the party vehemently opposes its "rushed, haphazard, and opaque" execution, which has triggered widespread protests, suicides, and fears of disenfranchisement just months before the 2026 Assembly elections.
The outburst comes amid a escalating crisis: At least three BLOs have died by suicide in West Bengal due to "inhuman pressure," with 31 more stress-related fatalities statewide, including heart attacks from exhaustive door-to-door verifications and data uploads. Gokhale decried the SIR as a "death sentence" for BLOs have fueled TMC's narrative of a BJP-orchestrated ploy to target opposition strongholds.
Opposition BJP has fired back, alleging TMC's "misinformation" campaign equates SIR to NRC, stoking immigrant fears to shield an "illicit vote-bank," with leaders like Suvendu Adhikari claiming the ruling party pressures BLOs to upload fake entries. Congress and CPI(M) have waded in too, with Rahul Gandhi branding SIR "imposed tyranny" and a "plot" for fraud, while leftists decry TMC intimidation tactics. BLO unions demand official duty status and mental health aid, as protests erupt outside the Bengal CEO's office.
As the SIR's house-to-house phase looms from November 4, Gokhale's plea underscores a deeper battle: For Bengal's ballot integrity, where procedural haste risks eroding trust in the world's largest democracy.
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