Bengal SIR Row: EC In Action Amid TMC-BJP Slugfest, Appoints Retired Bureaucrat Subrata Gupta As Roll Observer

Bengal SIR Row: As the political row intensified in election-bound West Bengal over the special intensive revision (SIR), the Election Commission appointed retired IAS officer Subrata Gupta as the ‘Special Roll Observer’. News18 reported that Gupta will observe the controversial SIR exercise in the state. The poll body also assigned 12 IAS officers as Electoral Roll Observers to supervise the revision of the electoral rolls.

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Their primary role of the appointees will be assisting district election officers (DEOs) and electoral registration officers (EROs) in implementing corrective measures during the SIR process.

EC Directs West Bengal DGP To Ensure Safety Of Poll Officials

Meanwhile, the Election Commission wrote to West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar, directing him to ensure the security of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during the SIR exercise after receiving reports that there is "an apparent threat" to their safety.

This is EC's second letter to the state government in three days, expressing concern over the security of poll officials in West Bengal. On Wednesday, the EC wrote to Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma over a "serious security breach" at the CEO's office, following an agitation by a section of BLOs against "excessive work pressure".

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Earlier, Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya appealed to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to immediately visit the state and personally assess the situation. The BJP leader claimed that there was an "atmosphere of fear, coercion and intimidation" of BLOs by the ruling Trinamool Congress. Following the BJP's concerns, the EC wrote letters to the Bengal police top brass.

"It has come to the notice of the Election Commission of India from various quarters that there is an apparent threat to the safety and security of the lives of Booth Level Officers and other field functionaries. This may prevent them from discharging their statutory duties towards the conduct of SIR," said the letter sent by EC secretary Sujeet Kumar Mishra.

Over 80,000 BLOs are currently engaged in the distribution, collection and digitisation of enumeration forms for the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
(With PTI inputs)