SIR drive: 2 more BLOs die in Gujarat, West Bengal

Two more BLOs have died in West Bengal and Gujarat during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The two BLOs, both primary school teachers, have died of cardiac arrest. SIR is currently underway in 12 states and Union territories.

The incident in Gujarat took place in Mehsana, where Dinesh Raval (50), a government primary school teacher in Sudasana village, died of a heart attack at his home in the intervening night of Thursday (November 27) and Friday (November 28) , Satlasana police station sub inspector Udaysinh Zala said.

Congress claims tremendous pressure

While the opposition Congress and teachers' union linked the BLO's death to excessive work pressure and lack of facilities, police denied the allegations.

Also Read: Nearly 14 lakh SIR forms identified as 'uncollectable' so far in West Bengal

Speaking to reporters, Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said BLOs have been put under tremendous pressure to finish the assigned work in time.

President of Gujarat State Primary Teacher Association, Digvijaysinh Jadeja, claimed he came to know from other teachers that Raval was under pressure due to BLO-related work.

Juggling SIR and teaching

As for the incident in West Bengal, it took place in Murshidabad district. Zakir Hossain, a teacher at a state-run primary school who was deployed as a BLO, collapsed on Thursday (November 27) afternoon after complaining of severe chest pain and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died later that night, family members said.

Also Read: Teachers on the brink: Deaths, threats, and unbearable SIR workload in Gujarat

They further alleged had been under "tremendous pressure" juggling SIR duties and regular teaching work, adding that the strain increased even more as the primary school authorities refused to relieve him despite repeated requests, forcing him to manage both responsibilities simultaneously.

‘CEC has blood on his hands’: TMC

With West Bengal reporting the fourth (booth-level officer) BLO death since the exercise began in the state on November 4, a Trinamool Congress delegation on Friday met the full bench of the Election Commission in Delhi and accused the poll panel chief of having "blood on his hands".

Trinamool Congress leaders, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, have accused the EC of burdening BLOs with an "inhumane" and "unplanned" workload.

Also Read: Massive mismatches, missing names plague Bengal’s SIR

The BJP, however, rejected the allegation, contending that the stress felt by BLOs stemmed not from the EC's directives but from political and administrative pressure exerted by the ruling TMC.

During the day, the 10-member TMC delegation, led by Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien, met the EC officials. The delegation also consisted of Lok Sabha MPs Mahua Moitra, Satabdi Roy, Kalyan Banerjee, Pratima Mondal, Sajda Ahmed, and Rajya Sabha MPs Dola Sen, Mamata Thakur, Saket Gokhale, and Prakash Chik Barik.

‘Didn’t get any answer from CEC’

Following their meeting, O'Brien addressed reporters, saying the party raised five questions, but Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar did not respond to any of them.

"We started the meeting by stating that the CEC has blood on its hands. We raised five questions. After this, Kalyan Banerjee, Mahua Moitra, and Mamata Thakur spoke and shared whatever they had to in about 40 minutes," O'Brien said.

Also Read: BLOs in Tamil Nadu face abuse amid intense political pressure

"Then the CEC spoke uninterrupted for one hour. We were also not interrupted while we spoke, but we did not receive any answer to any of our five questions," he added.

Moitra said the delegation shared with the CEC a list of 40 people whose deaths, they alleged, were linked to the SIR exercise. The commission, however, dismissed it as mere allegations, the Lok Sabha MP claimed.

Akhilesh Yadav’s ‘conspiracy’ charge

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav also made a fresh attack on the EC over the special intensive revision (SIR), claiming it was a "big conspiracy" against the people of the country that could push citizens into a state "worse than the colonial era".

Also Read: Tamil Nadu CEO rules out SIR extension, rejects bias allegations

Posting a 20-second video on the SIR process on his official X handle on Thursday evening, Yadav appealed to all opposition parties, including allies of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), to "unite and expose this mega-conspiracy of the BJP".

‘Fraud with democracy’

"This is fraud with democracy. People must stay alert. Today, votes are being cut, tomorrow names will be removed from land records, ration cards, caste certificates, reservations, and later even from bank accounts and lockers of the middle-class,” stated Yadav.

“This is a major conspiracy against the people of this country, which will lead to a situation far worse than the colonial era. This is the time to wake up and protect every single vote,” he added.

Also Read: TMC accuses EC of overburdening BLOs; platform to hold rally in Kolkata on Monday

Refuting the allegations, BJP state spokesperson Harishchandra Srivastava hit back at Yadav, saying that the SP chief is making a malicious attempt to spread fear and confusion among the public through his post.

Meanwhile, the EC said Lakshadweep has become the first Union territory in the country to complete 100 per cent distribution and digitisation of SIR enumeration forms.

(With agency inputs)