SIR a death trap for BLOs: Congress

After claiming deaths of over 25 booth-level officers (BLOs) due to SIR-related work stress, the Congress on Friday accused the Election Commission and the Modi government of having blood on their hands as they are dying under threats and coercion. Congress senior spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi claimed that the officials are forced to delete OBC votes and work for 18 hours, alleging that the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is nothing but ‘vote chori’ by design. “The so-called Special Intensive Revision has turned into a Special Institutionalised rejig unknown to law. BLOs are dying under inhuman targets, threats and coercion. Suicides in Gir, Fatehpur and Gonda expose the rot. “When officials are forced to delete OBC voters and work 18 hours a day, it is no revision, it is vote chori by design. The Modi Government and ECI now have blood on their hands,” Singhvi said in a post on X. His party colleague and spokesperson, Supriya Shrinate, shared a video of the remarks of a BLO who died by committing suicide. “Gyanesh Ji, the wife of deceased BLO Vijay Verma from UP is saying …. ‘The BLO job has taken my husband’s life. How will we run the household, how will we educate our son?’. The son is saying ‘SDM says if the feeding of 200 papers hasn’t been done, there will be an FIR’. “SIR’s deadline has turned into a deathline,” she alleged in a post on X. The Congress also posted on X that the SIR is a death trap for BLOs. “The Modi government’s latest tool for nationwide vote chori-the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)-has become a nightmare for BLOs and electoral officials, to the point that they are paying with their lives one after the other across the states. “Each day, India is witnessing the deaths of officials deployed on SIR duty. Many have taken the ultimate decision to take their own lives, while others have suffered serious ailments, including heart attacks, that have resulted in their deaths,” the party said.