New Delhi [India], August 2: Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Kumar Jha on Saturday accused the Election Commission of deliberately undermining the democratic process through what he called a "special intensive deletion" of voters. He alleged that the Commission had ignored Supreme Court instructions and was operating under hidden directives.
Speaking to ANI, RJD Jha said," We are already witnessing the obstinacy of the Election Commission... We have also seen that the Supreme Court's clear instructions to the Election Commission were not followed. In a way, the signals are someone else's, and the intentions are someone else's too. An attempt is being made to suppress voting; this should not be called a special intensive revision but rather a special intensive deletion, which will be brought to an end."
Earlier in the day, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said that it will double the remuneration for Booth Level Officers (BLOs), enhance remuneration for BLO Supervisors and give honorarium to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs).
"Pure electoral rolls are the bedrock of democracy. The electoral roll machinery, consisting of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), BLO Supervisors and Booth Level Officers (BLOs), do a lot of hard work and play a pivotal role in preparation of impartial and transparent electoral rolls. The Commission has therefore, decided to double the annual remuneration for BLOs & also enhanced the remuneration of BLO Supervisors involved in the preparation and revision of electoral rolls" it said in a press release.
The apex poll body's press statement also mentioned that the last such revision was done in 2015 and the honorarium has been provided for EROs and AEROs for the first time.
Remunerations for BLOs, incentives for BLOs for Revision of electoral rolls, and BLO Supervisors have existed since 2015, with remuneration amounts of Rs 6000, Rs 1000, and Rs 12000, respectively. The revised remuneration is Rs 12000 for BLOs, Rs 2000 for an Incentive to BLO for Revision of the electoral roll and Rs 18000 for BLO Supervisors. For AERO and ERO, remuneration is 25000 and 30000, respectively.
Moreover, the press note further mentioned that the Commission had also approved a special incentive of Rs 6,000 for BLOs for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) starting from Bihar.
"This decision reflects the Election Commission's commitment to adequately compensate election personnel who work tirelessly at the field level to maintain accurate electoral rolls, assist voters, and strengthen the electoral process," the ECI said.