Gujarat CM asks chief secretary to check if non-teaching staff can work as BLOs for SIR drive

Ahmedabad, Nov 25 (PTI) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday asked chief secretary M K Das to check with election authorities if government employees other than teachers can be roped in as booth-level officers (BLOs) for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Patel, presiding over a Cabinet meeting, also asked all his ministers to be in touch with the administration of their assigned districts to ensure the Election Commission (EC) does not face any difficulty in carrying out the SIR drive, said agriculture minister and government spokesperson Jitu Vaghani in Gandhinagar.

"The SIR drive is an important exercise and I want to thank Gujarat BJP chief Jagdish Vishwakarma for asking party workers to help election authorities in this exercise" Vaghani told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

Asked about the government's stand on complaints that teachers working as BLOs are under immense pressure to complete the work in time and students' study is also getting affected due to teachers' absence, Vaghani noted the CM has given necessary instructions to the chief secretary (CS).

"The CM has asked the chief secretary to check with election authorities if government employees other than teachers can be roped in as BLOs so that students do not suffer. Though its the prerogative of the EC, the CM has asked the CS to hold a discussion with election officials to check if this can be done," informed Vaghani.

Since the month-long SIR drive began in Gujarat on November 4, one BLO has died of a heart attack, while another allegedly committed suicide.

On November 20, Rameshbhai Parmar, a schoolteacher working as a BLO in Kheda district, died of a heart attack, with his family attributing his death to "excessive work pressure" linked to the ongoing SIR.

The next day, another BLO, Arvind Vadher, allegedly ended his life in Gir Somnath district. His family claimed he left behind a note citing "mental stress and exhaustion" due to his involvement in the SIR drive as the reason for taking the extreme step. PTI PJT PD RSY