Kolkata, Dec 4 Another round of protests by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) erupted outside the office of West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Kolkata on Thursday.
The protesting BLOs, under the banner of the 'BLO Rights Protection Committee', demanded financial assistance for the families of deceased BLOs and an extension of time to upload enumeration forms as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal.
The relatives of the deceased BLOs were also present in Thursday's protest, adding an emotional edge to the agitation.
The BLOs also took out a procession in this regard. However, a scuffle broke out when the police tried to stop the march near the CEO’s office. It is alleged that the protesting BLOs tried to enter the CEO office premises by breaking the police barricades.
The protesters claimed that they had already asked the Chief Electoral Officer for additional time to complete the SIR-related work. Yet, despite their repeated appeals, they were allegedly prevented from reaching the office. However, the policemen present there managed to prevent the situation from escalating further.
It may be recalled that BLOs have been agitating in front of the CEO office in central Kolkata for the past few days, protesting against multiple issues, including the additional workload arising out of the SIR exercise and what they describe as unrealistic deadlines.
The protest, spearheaded by the 'BLO Rights Protection Committee', has seen sustained participation from BLOs who claim that they are having to work under "unbearable pressure".
They also insisted that the seven-day extension granted so far is not enough to complete their work in a proper and error-free manner. Reiterating their core demand, they said the Election Commission must provide financial assistance to the families of BLOs who have died while in service or during poll-related duties.
It is worth mentioning that a few days ago, the CEO's office virtually turned into a battlefield due to a confrontation triggered by the BLO protests coinciding with Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari's visit to the premises.
During that incident, 'go back' slogans were raised targeting the opposition leader. In this backdrop, Adhikari subsequently demanded that the office of the CEO be shifted to a safer and more secure location. Not only that, he also requested the deployment of central forces for the protection of the CEO’s office and to ensure adequate security to poll panel officials and staff engaged in election-related duties.
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