Jalpaiguri (West Bengal) [India], November 19 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday expressed shock and sadness over the death of Booth Level Officer Shanti Muni Ekka, who took her own life due to unbearable pressure from Special Revision of Electoral Rolls (SIR) work.
Mamata Banerjee claimed that this death marked the 28th such incident since SIR began, with many succumbing to fear, uncertainty, stress, and overload.
In a post on X, she criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI) for imposing an unplanned, relentless workload, compressing a 3-year process into 2 months and urged the ECI to act with conscience and halt the drive to prevent further loss of life.
"Deeply shocked and saddened. Today again, we lost a Booth Level Officer in Mal, Jalpaiguri -- Smt Shanti Muni Ekka, a tribal lady, 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. 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," she added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Congress MP Jebi Mather had also expressed her shock and grief over the alleged suicide of a Booth Level Officer (BLO) in Kerala's Kannur, claiming that the incident is due to the immense pressure faced by BLOs in conducting the Special Revision of electoral rolls.
"It is very sad and unfortunate that the election system and the election commission do not understand the pressure under which the BLOs are undergoing. This is not just one case... We are against SIR being done in such a hurried manner. This is an example of how a system can kill a person. This is actually a murder by the system." Mather told ANI.
The ECI is yet to issue a formal response to the Chief Minister's serious allegations and demands.