Jaipur: Concerned about suicide of BLOs, RSS-affiliated teachers’ organization ABSRM writes to ECI
Jaipur: The Akhil Bhartiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM), an RSS-affiliated organization of teachers, has written to the Election Commission of India (ECI) demanding an extension of the deadline to complete the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) who have died during the process.
The SIR is currently going on in nine states as well as three Union Territories (UTs) and the ABRSM has expressed concern regarding the pressure on BLOs, which has allegedly led some officers to commit suicide.
According to a report in The Indian Express, the organization, in its strongly-worded letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, has called the workload on the BLOs ‘unethical’ and the targets ‘unrealistic’. It has said that the teachers who are working as BLOs are facing severe pressure as well as intimidation, calling the situation contrary to the dignity of elections and disrespectful towards teaching community.
While the ABSRM admits in its letter that the SIR is crucial for India’s democratic process, it adds that teachers have been faithfully fulfilling the duty they are assigned in relation to elections. It clarifies that BLOs have been struggling to fulfill their duty as the SIR has put on them an excessive workload of 16-18 hours of daily field and portal work to be completed without technical facilities. This has led to an increase in depression and stress among the BLOs and their suicide, the organization explained to the ECI.
It has told the CEC in the letter, “Abusive behavior by officials has led to severe mental stress among BLO teachers in several states. Sadly, some cases have even resulted in tragic suicides, which not only disturb the teaching community but also represent a clear violation of human rights.
The ABSRM has complained about the BLOs being intimidated through the pressure of having to meet unrealistic targets within a very short time. Several of the officers fear loss of salary, receiving show-cause notices, chargesheets, suspensions, threats of FIRs, and abusive behavior, it has told the CEC.
Referring to the problems the BLOs face on the field, the letter states that some voters do not have documents that are decades old and therefore do not cooperate with the BLOs. It has pointed out on the failure of the ECI in educating the voters about the SIR, as a result of which, many people find the survey unnecessary.
Pointing out that BLO deaths have been reported from the states undergoing SIR, the ABSRM states that, as per the Press Information Bureau (PIB), over 5.3 lakh BLOs, 7.64 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs), 10,448 EROs/AEROs and 321 DEOs have been pressed into action spanning 321 districts and 1,843 Assembly Constituencies (ACs).
The organization has demanded that the ECI extend the deadline for completion of the survey, in order to make the SIR stress-free, accurate and also improve the quality.
It has also demanded Rs 1 crore as compensation and a government job for the kin of BLOs who have died prematurely or by suicide due to pressure from the SIR. ABRSM demands a high-level probe of all such cases should be and prosecution of the guilty officials.
Further, it has asked the CEC to provide technical assistants, computer operators, or associates, as well as tablets/laptops, travel allowances, etc. should also be provided to BLOs, while “officials should be given clear instructions to refrain from any kind of threats, harassment, abusive language or punitive action.”
ABRSM says that BLOs should be provided “respectable additional honorarium as per the workload and challenges” and that “additional BLOs should be deployed in inaccessible hilly, desert and remote areas.”
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Electorate in 9 states, UTs shrink by 1.70 crore after SIR
New Delhi (PTI): Voter base in nine states and Union territories has shrunk by more than 1.70 crore following the publication of final electoral rolls as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to official data.
The data shared by the chief electoral officers of Gujarat, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa and Kerala on Saturday showed that their combined voter base stood at over 21.45 crore before the SIR exercise began on October 27 last year.
It shrunk to 19.75 crore after publication of their final electoral rolls this week, a net change of over 1.70 crore electors.
While the exercise, which kept the Election Commission in the spotlight, has been completed in Bihar, it is currently underway in 12 states and Union territories covering nearly 60 crore electors.
The remaining 40 crore electors will be covered in 17 states and five Union territories.
In Assam, a "special revision", instead of SIR, was completed on February 10.
Due to a variety of reasons, the SIR in the nine states and three Union territories have seen frequent tweaking in schedules.
As in Bihar, political parties have approached the Supreme Court challenging the exercise in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
