Kerala Chief Electoral Officer warns of stern motion in opposition to these obstructing BLOs from conducting SIR work

Obstructing booth-level officers (BLO) from discharging their duties associated to the Particular Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls will entice “strict legal motion,” Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala) Rathan U. Kelkar has mentioned.

Addressing a press convention of the progress of SIR in Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, Mr. Kelkar mentioned incidents had been reported in Malappuram and Idukki the place BLOs had been prevented from doing their work.

“So long as an individual is appointed as a BLO, that particular person might be thought of as a public servant for the work of the Election Fee of India (ECI). All people ought to know that they’ve a distinguished function to play. District Collectors have been instructed to take strict legal motion underneath Part 121 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in opposition to anybody who tries to hinder their work,” Mr. Kelkar mentioned.

Part 121 offers with situations the place public servants are hindered in discharging their duties.

Mr. Kelkar mentioned his workplace was taking the SIR ahead “by way of teamwork” and by addressing the problems confronted by the BLOs. Complaints relating to work strain on BLOs might be regarded into, he mentioned.

He noticed that BLOs are appointed for a Constitutionally mandated work for the ECI underneath Part 13B(2) of the Illustration of the Folks Act, 1950. “As soon as an individual is appointed as BLO, the management over the particular person rests with the ECI. Then their monitoring and supervision turns into the duty of the ECI,” he mentioned.

All officers, together with the CEO, District Election Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, AEROs, booth-level supervisors and the BLOs, work as per the mandates of the Structure and the ECI, he mentioned. District Collectors have additionally been directed to hunt police help for BLOs if wanted, he added.

Checking misinformation unfold

District Collectors may also be instructed to take strict motion in opposition to the unfold of misinformation pertaining to the SIR, the CEO mentioned.

He cited an occasion the place there have been studies that the fee was planning motion in opposition to BLOs who took half within the protest demonstrations on Monday. The ECI was not considering any such motion, Mr. Kelkar mentioned.

Concerning the progress of distributing enumeration types, the CEO mentioned round 55,000 instances have been reported the place the people had been discovered to be untraceable. They embrace, deceased, shifted individuals and duplications.

In keeping with him, 97% of the types have been distributed to this point.

The crammed types might be collected within the coming days. Practically 5 lakh types have been digitized to this point, he mentioned.