KOLKATA: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday lambasted the Election Commission over the suicide of a female Booth Level Officer (BLO) in West Bengal, allegedly due to the workload of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Using her social media handles, CM Banerjee claimed that about 28 people have died in the state since the Election Commission began the SIR of Bengal's electoral rolls.
"Deeply shocked and saddened. Today again, we lost a Booth Level Officer in Mal, Jalpaiguri — an anganwadi worker who took her own life under the unbearable pressure of the ongoing SIR work. 28 people have already lost their lives since SIR began — some due to fear and uncertainty, others due to stress and overload, " said CM Banerjee.
The West Bengal Chief Minister also asked the Election Commission to halt this "unplanned drive" to save lives in the state.
"Such precious lives are being lost because of the unplanned, relentless workload imposed by the so-called Election Commission of India. A process that earlier took 3 years is now being forced into 2 months on the eve of elections to please political masters, putting inhuman pressure on BLOs. I urge the ECI to act with conscience and immediately halt this unplanned drive before more lives are lost, " added CM Banerjee.