BJP MP Abhijeet Ganguly on Wednesday dismissed allegations that recent deaths of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in West Bengal were linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, insisting the cases stemmed from “personal reasons”.
Speaking during a Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms, Ganguly, the MP from Tamluk, said that in one instance, a suicide note had initially surfaced but was later determined to be inconsistent with the officer’s handwriting.
“The BLOs died due to personal reasons and not the SIR process,” he asserted.
Ganguly urged the deployment of Central Forces to ensure the SIR exercise is completed smoothly. He also questioned the Trinamool Congress’s repeated criticism of the Election Commission, challenging its MPs to explain the alleged misconduct they attribute to the Chief Election Commissioner. “I don’t understand why there is such anger against the Election Commission. I urge the TMC to explain what wrong the Chief Election Commissioner has done,” he said.
Commenting on remarks made by Opposition leaders, Ganguly accused them of maligning a constitutional institution without evidence. Referring to Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, he said the Congress leader had failed to acknowledge that the Election Commission comprises three members and had not cited a single instance of any one-member exercising overriding authority.
He added that such political claims were better suited to “a local tea stall” than the floor of Parliament. Ganguly also criticised both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over what he called their “poor electoral performance in Bihar”.
Turning to West Bengal, Ganguly said the state government had initially opposed the SIR exercise but that it was now “99 per cent complete” and nearing full conclusion. Citing earlier remarks by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, he alleged that the TMC government had enabled the entry of Bangladeshi nationals and facilitated the acquisition of fraudulent voter and Aadhaar documents.
The Tamluk MP further claimed that the number of deceased voters listed in some constituencies rose after Election Commission observers arrived in the state. Ganguly also highlighted the recent assault on a BLO who had completed his official duties.
Abhijit Ganguly criticised the formation of the “BLO Aikya Manch”, describing it as a “pseudo-platform” aligned with the TMC. He said the group had staged protests outside the Chief Electoral Office in Kolkata, contributing to what he described as a politically charged narrative against the Election Commission.
