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Kolkata, Oct 22 (IANS) Amid indications that a special intensive review (SIR) exercise could be announced in West Bengal any day from now, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has made it clear to booth level officers (BLOs) in the state that there will be no relief from election duties without genuine reasons.
Insiders in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal said the Commission has also made it clear that any BLO seeking relief from election duties will also have to tell the Commission on what grounds they are seeking relief from election duties.
Already, more than 600 BLOs in West Bengal, who have sought relief from election duties, have been served show cause notices by the CEO office.
In the notice, the concerned BLO has been asked to explain within 72 hours why his petition for relief from election duties should be approved by the Commission.
Insiders in the CEO’s office said that in most cases, the BLOs seeking relief from election duties are teaching staff attached to various government schools in the state.
Recently, West Bengal CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal had sent a letter to the state education department complaining that despite a clear direction by a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, there is reluctance among a section of teaching staff in state-run schools to accept BLO duty.
In August this year, while ruling that there was nothing objectionable in the ECI’s decision to appoint government school teachers as BLOs, a single-judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha of the Calcutta High Court said that the country’s legal provisions also allow teachers to be assigned election-related duties.
The CEO office had also warned of disciplinary action against such teachers if they do not attend BLO duties after a certain period.
Earlier this month, the CEO office had also cautioned district magistrates, who are also district election officers in West Bengal, to be careful so that para-teachers are not selected as BLOs.
Amid complaints from opposition parties in the matter, a warning has been issued to district election officials on potentially involving para-teachers as BLOs, citing specific examples.
–IANS
Source/PGH