2 hrs ago
Bengal BLOs Seek Security for Fresh Voter Enrolment Drive
Booth-level officers help people register to vote.
They have been told to visit homes to add new eligible voters and help eligible people whose names were removed from the voter list.
Some officers worry that people may get angry with them during these visits.
Their association has asked West Bengal’s chief election official to provide security personnel or other protection.
The association named eight districts where it believes the risk is highest.
It says most of six districts are sensitive, while only some areas of Kolkata and Hooghly are flagged.
The officers say they did not decide whose names were removed.
Their worries are partly linked to an alleged attack on judicial officers in Malda in April.
A West Bengal booth-level officers’ association has asked Chief Electoral Officer Neelam Meena for security during a fresh voter enrolment drive.
The Election Commission’s instructions require BLOs to visit homes to register new eligible voters and re-enrol eligible voters whose names were deleted during the SIR exercise.
The association says some BLOs fear being targeted by voters whose names were removed, although BLOs had no role in those omissions.
The association identified eight sensitive districts: North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, Malda, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur and Kolkata.
The concerns follow an alleged April attack and hostage-taking involving judicial officers working on SIR adjudication in Mothabari, Malda.
- Who
- A West Bengal association of booth-level officers (BLOs), and Chief Electoral Officer Neelam Meena.
- What
- The association requested security for BLOs carrying out a door-to-door voter enrolment and re-enrolment exercise.
- Where
- West Bengal, with eight districts identified as sensitive.
- When
- The request concerns an upcoming enrolment drive; the article also refers to an incident in April this year.
- Why
- Some BLOs fear being targeted by voters whose names were deleted during the SIR exercise.
Key facts
- Request
- The BLO association asked for security personnel or other necessary forces to accompany each BLO.
- Purpose of visits
- Register new eligible voters and re-enrol eligible voters whose names were deleted during the SIR exercise.
- Sensitive districts
- North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, Malda, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur and Kolkata.
- District risk assessment
- The association flagged only certain pockets of Kolkata and Hooghly; it classified the remaining six districts as fully sensitive.
- Association secretary
- Swapan Mondal.
- Earlier incident cited
- Judicial officers involved in SIR adjudication were allegedly attacked and held hostage for several hours in Mothabari, Malda, in April this year.
Quotes
Swapan Mondal
Secretary of the West Bengal BLO association
“We are apprehending security threats door-to-door. Hence, we have written to the Chief Electoral Officer demanding security cover for the BLOs during the exercise. We have demanded that security personnel or necessary forces be provided with each BLO.”
thehansindia.com
Unnamed BLO
A BLO who declined to be named
“If the judicial officers can be harassed in such a manner, what will be the guarantee that our security will also not be compromised during the fresh enrolment process?”
thehansindia.com
Sources
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