Kolkata, Oct 16 – Police and election officials in West Bengal are scrambling after a group of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) told the State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) that they need paramilitary protection for their work.
The BLOs, who belong to the Electoral Workers Unity Forum, wrote the letter on Thursday. They said local crime gangs are threatening them with gunshots and intimidation. The officers fear that “false names” will be added to the voter rolls. They also claim they are being pushed to include only people who have Aadhaar cards in the list.
“In the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) we will need armed guard,” the letter says. “The safety of our workers must be guaranteed.”
The SIR is a nationwide review of voter rolls that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has yet to formally announce in West Bengal. The commission says BLOs work by walking through every house in their area, updating the voter rolls to keep the election system transparent. They visit the households themselves and collect personal details to verify the voter’s eligibility.
The danger goes beyond the threat of false names. Reports from neighborhoods in Kolkata’s Gulshan Colony, Kidderpore and Kasba say that hunters have pointed guns at the officers. Sources say local groups are pressuring the BLOs to hand out papers that identify voters by Aadhaar alone, a move that many officers resist.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already demanded a complete roll review in West Bengal to destroy “fake, false and illegal” names. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has warned that any removal of a legitimate voter will spark a large protest.
Union Minister of State for Education and DoNER, Sukanta Majumdar, said he had spoken to the matter before. “The way the Election Commission’s resolution is being pushed, especially by CM Mamata Banerjee, it is natural that such a situation would arise,” he told reporters.
The ECI is preparing the ambitious roll‑revision exercise and has held several workshops for district officials and BLOs. However, it has not yet published the official notification for the West Bengal SIR. The state and national authorities therefore face a tight deadline to secure the safety of the officers who keep the democratic process on track.
Source: ianslive
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
