BLOs hold protest outside Bengal CEO's office over 'excessive' work pressure under SIR
Kolkata (PTI): Booth-level officers, engaged in the ongoing SIR process in West Bengal, scuffled with police personnel on Monday while trying to enter the CEO's office here during a demonstration to protest against alleged excessive work pressure, a senior officer said.
Members of the BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee took out the procession from College Square in north Kolkata, carrying locks and fetters to symbolically close the main entrance of the building in which the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) is housed.
The demonstrators tried to breach police barricades to enter the CEO's office in central Kolkata, the officer said.
The protesting BLOs raised slogans against the Election Commission, alleging that they were forced to hold the procession as the "poll panel did not respond to their complaints of intense and inhuman work pressure during the SIR exercise".
"BLOs have been directed to complete tasks within a short period, though the same work usually takes more than two years," a functionary claimed.
The committee also alleged that BLOs were falling sick and two of them died by suicide due to stress.
The BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee had earlier announced that para-teachers, college professors and teachers from several organisations would join the march to press for immediate intervention by the Election Commission.
House-to-house enumeration under the SIR began on November 4 and will continue till December 4, with draft rolls scheduled for publication on December 9.
The committee warned that if deadlines are not extended or corrective steps are not taken, it will launch a continuous protest programme.
Meanwhile, another organisation, BLO Oikya Mancha, had separately flagged issues related to the digitisation of enumeration forms and demanded additional support staff.
It had submitted a deputation on November 22.
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V.D. Satheesan elected as new Chief Minister of Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Celebrations erupted across Kerala on Thursday after V D Satheesan was selected by the Congress High Command as the next Chief Minister of the state.
Satheesan was at the Contonment House in Thiruvananthapuram, the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition, when AICC leaders announced it in New Delhi.
Soon after the announcement, jubilant Satheesan supporters burst firecrackers and distributed sweets in several parts of the state.
Paravur in Ernakulam district, the Assembly constituency he has represented since 2001, witnessed large-scale celebrations.
Satheesan was widely seen as the frontrunner for the post, with UDF allies also backing his candidature during the selection process.
As the Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Assembly, he led the UDF both inside and outside the House.
Apart from Satheesan, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala and Congress MP K C Venugopal were also considered for the post.
