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. The Congress claimed that in Gujarat’s Gir, BLO Arvind Vadher killed himself after citing an inability to cope with the extreme SIR workload.
In Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur, Sudhir Kumar, an SIR supervisor, killed himself by hanging after he was threatened with suspension for not attending an official meeting, the party said.
“Shockingly, another BLO from UP has revealed the Modi government’s sinister plans of vote chori. Gonda’s BLO and Assistant Teacher Vipin Yadav consumed poison after being coerced by the administration to delete the names of OBC voters and threatened if he failed to comply.
“And these are just a few names from the list of over 25 victims of SIR. BLOs across the states have written to the EC, revealing that “unrealistic targets, 16–18 hour workdays, intimidation and constant threats of suspension” are taking a toll on the mental and physical health of officials,” the Congress said.
The opposition party claimed that the repeated and consistent pleas from officials, unions and their families are falling on deaf ears as the deadly SIR continues hurriedly and ruthlessly under a skewed deadline — “ostensibly to carry out an ‘effective’ nationwide vote chori.”
“This is no revision—this is Special Intrusive Rigging. Because Modi knows that he can’t taste electoral victories without a manipulated mandate.
“But enough is enough! How many more lives will be claimed to enable Modi’s illegitimate rule? How many more innocents will pay the price for one man’s greed for power? Modi and the Election Commission have blood on their hands,” the party said on X.
TMC claims 40 SIR-related deaths in WB
A Trinamool Congress delegation on Friday alleged before the Election Commission top brass that around 40 SIR-related deaths had occurred in West Bengal so far, a charge junked by the poll authority.
The TMC delegation, which met the EC top brass, also accused Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of having “blood on his hands”.
EC officials, meanwhile, said they told the TMC delegation that while political rhetoric is their prerogative, they should refrain from spreading misinformation relating to election procedures.
The TMC challenged the EC’s response, alleging that the poll authority was “telling lies.”
The 10-member delegation, led by TMC Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien, met the EC officials amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
EC officials noted that during the meeting, the TMC leaders were told that the independence of booth-level officers should not be interfered with during the enumeration forms distribution process as part of SIR.
“EC also told the delegation of TMC not to influence or threaten the BLOs regarding dead, shifted and duplicate voters,” an official later said.
TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee and O’Brien called the EC’s assertions “misleading” and “outright lies”.
Banerjee accused the EC of “deliberately planting selective leaks to falsely claim that they have provided a point-by-point rebuttal to the issues raised by the AITC delegation”.
Banerjee, who had earlier challenged the EC to do a live telecast of the meeting, asked them to release a “CCTV footage” of the meeting, and “every piece of evidence it claims to possess”.
O’Brien also slammed the EC and said, “None of this was said to us at the meeting. In the morning, we told them they have blood on their hands. Now we say they are a bag full of lies. What a shame they are bringing to this constitutional body. They should issue a press release.
Earlier in the day, following their meeting with the poll body, O’Brien addressed reporters, saying that the party had raised five questions, but CEC Kumar did not respond to any of them.
“We started the meeting by stating that the CEC has blood on his hands. We raised five questions,” O’Brien said.
“The CEC spoke uninterrupted for one hour… but we did not receive any answer to any of our five questions,” he added.
A TMC leader present at the meeting noted that the CEC spent half of his speaking time discussing the SIR exercise in Bihar, saying, “Of the one hour he spoke, he devoted half to praising the job done in Bihar. He said, ‘You can apply for corrections in the next two months,’ and spent the rest of the time explaining the basics.”
EC officials said the poll authority gave a point-wise rebuttal to all concerns and “baseless allegations” raised by the TMC delegation. They urged them to present their claims and objections after December 9, when the draft list will be shared with them.
“Till then, they should not interfere with the independent functioning of BLOs, electoral registration officers and district election officers who are state government employees on deputation to election-related works,” the official said.
Additionally, the Election Commission shot off a letter to DGP West Bengal and Kolkata Police Commissioner to ensure that the BLOs are not pressurised and threatened by political party workers.
Moitra mentioned that the delegation provided the CEC with 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.
“We began by presenting a list of individuals whose deaths we believe are linked to the SIR process… The CEC said that these are merely allegations,” Moitra said.
The TMC MPs asked the poll body about the claim that the exercise would weed out non-voters, and questioned why the exercise was not being undertaken in the Northeastern states, which also face the risk of infiltration as they share borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar.
They also questioned how the electoral roll, on which the last Lok Sabha election was held, suddenly became “unreliable”. The MPs raised the issues of alleged deaths linked to the SIR process, and questioned who would take responsibility for it. Additionally, they expressed worries about the neutrality and effectiveness of the SIR process and noted a recent amendment in the rules by the poll panel that allows for the appointment of external Booth Level Agents (BLAs).
The TMC further informed the CEC that BJP leaders in West Bengal are claiming that one crore voters’ names will be deleted. “The ECI has taken no cognisance of these comments, nor have they negated the dear mongering by the BJP,” a TMC leader said.
A party source said they have compiled a list of 60 tragedies linked to SIR – 41 common people and 19 BLOs. Of the common individuals, 35 have died, and six are receiving medical attention. Among the 19 BLOs affected, four have died, while 15 are hospitalised or receiving care.
The SIR is currently underway in 12 states and Union territories, including West Bengal.
The delegation 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.