Bengal CM Banerjee slams EC over suicide of BLO allegedly over SIR work pressure

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday lambasted the Election Commission over the suicide of a female Booth Level Officer (BLO) in West Bengal, allegedly due to the workload of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

Using her social media handles, CM Banerjee claimed that about 28 people have died in the state since the Election Commission began the SIR of Bengal’s electoral rolls.

“Deeply shocked and saddened. Today again, we lost a Booth Level Officer in Mal, Jalpaiguri — an anganwadi worker who took her own life under the unbearable pressure of the ongoing SIR work. 28 people have already lost their lives since SIR began — some due to fear and uncertainty, others due to stress and overload,” said CM Banerjee.

The West Bengal Chief Minister also asked the Election Commission to halt this “unplanned drive” to save lives in the state.

“Such precious lives are being lost because of the unplanned, relentless workload imposed by the so-called Election Commission of India. A process that earlier took 3 years is now being forced into 2 months on the eve of elections to please political masters, putting inhuman pressure on BLOs. I urge the ECI to act with conscience and immediately halt this unplanned drive before more lives are lost,” added CM Banerjee.

The strong reaction from Mamata Banerjee came hours after a female BLO died by suicide due to alleged work pressure during the SIR exercise in the state.

The incident took place in Mal Bazar area in Jalpaiguri district of north Bengal. The family of the woman alleged that she decided to end her life as she could not bear the pressure of SIR work. According to the police, the deceased has been identified as Shantimani Ekka. She is a resident of Rangamati Panchayat in Mal Bazar. She was recently given the responsibility of the SIR work. Being a BLO, she was going door-to-door to distribute enumeration forms and receive the filled up forms.

Earlier this month, a female BLO died of brain stroke due to work pressure. The incident took place at Memari in East Burdwan district. The deceased was identified as Namita Hansda. She was an Anganwadi worker by profession. She was working as a BLO of booth number 278 of Chowk Balrampur in Memari. She suffered a brain stroke following a tiring day of door-to-door visits to distribute enumeration forms.

It may be noted that Mamata Banerjee and her party Trinamool Congress has been highlighting alleged incidents of suicides in West Bengal in fear of SIR.

The party has alleged that ever since the SIR was announced, people are living in panic, fearing their names would be removed from Bengal voters’ list. Trinamool has targeted the Election Commission and the BJP over this. On the other hand, the BJP claimed that the ruling party in the state has been spreading panic among citizens about SIR.

IANS