Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Kolkata, Oct 16 (IANS) A section of booth level officers (BLOs) on Thursday wrote to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, demanding deployment of paramilitary forces after receiving threats for including “wrong names” in the voter list.
The BLOs, as part of the Electoral Employees Unity Forum, said they should be given security when they go to booth level areas for election duty under Special Intensive Vetting (SIR) of the Election Commission.
He alleged that threats are coming from various places even though the SIR notification has not been issued yet by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
According to the ECI, the job of BLOs is to visit every household in their assigned area to maintain and update the voter list. These door-to-door visits are the cornerstone of ensuring accuracy and inclusivity of the electoral process. According to the complaints, BLOs are already being told that the names of those who have Aadhar card should be included in the voter list. Many BLOs have expressed objection to this.
Sources said it was alleged that guns were shown to some of them to scare them.
According to sources, the places in Kolkata from where such complaints are being made include Gulshan Colony, Kidderpore and Kasba areas. It is alleged that they are being pressurized to give the calculation form on the basis of Aadhar card only.
Reacting to the development, Union Minister of State for Education and Development of North Eastern Region Sukant Majumdar said, “I had already expressed my concern about this. The way threats were being made regarding the decision taken by the Election Commission, especially by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, it is natural for such a situation to arise.”
BJP is demanding that SIR of the voter list of West Bengal should be conducted to remove fake, false and illegal voters.
The Election Commission has already made preparations to carry out this exercise in Bengal and has held several meetings with district officials and BLOs to provide training on how to conduct the exercise.
However, official notification in this regard has not been released yet. On the other hand, Trinamool Congress has opposed the move and vowed to launch a massive protest movement if the name of even a single valid voter is removed from the voter list.
–IANS
sh/dpb