The Election Commission of India has started showcausing hundreds of teachers of state-aided schools after they refused to become booth-level officers (BLOs) despite being asked to by the Bengal chief electoral officer’s office.
“So far, showcause notices have been served on more than 600 school teachers as they did not join BLO duties even after they were requested to join work several times,” said a poll panel source.
The chief electoral officer of Bengal, Manoj Agarwal, had written to school education secretary Vinod Kumar on September 25 expressing concern that some teachers were refusing to accept appointment letters as BLOs. Kumar was asked to direct the teachers to join their assignments. The letter said that if the teachers failed to join BLO duty by October 1, action would be taken against them.
“Despite the warning, some teachers did not agree to be BLOs. The EROs and AEROs are now forced to issue showcause notices to them. The exact number of errant teachers is still not clear but I have heard that more than 600 teachers were served showcause notices,” said the source, adding the showcause was for alleged non-compliance to election-related directives under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
A source said that earlier, a section of teachers had even moved Calcutta High Court challenging their appointment as BLOs. “The high court ruled in favour of the EC and asked teachers to discharge duties as BLOs. Now, if the teachers refused to work as BLOs, they could face the music,” said a source.
The EC is laying stress on appointment of BLOs from the pool of regular state government employees as they could be held accountable in case of any dereliction of duty.
“It was found that many fictitious voters entered the rolls where BLOs did not do their jobs properly. Names of several dead voters were not deleted from the voter list, which was the primary responsibility of the BLOs. The EC does not want these to be repeated during the special intensive revision of rolls. Hence, appointing BLOs is a key task,” said a source.
Teachers have given several reasons for not wanting to serve as BLOs. “Some teachers have serious illnesses and some are the only ones teaching a particular subject in their schools. Teachers with valid reasons for not joining BLO duty should write to the EC,” said a source who spoke to some teachers.
The Trinamool Congress came down sharply on the EC showcause notices, terming it a violation of the Constitution. Opposition parties saw in the refusal of teachers a sense of fear instilled in them by Trinamool.
“Teachers who do not want to work as BLOs are doing it out of concern for their security. The way Trinamool leaders are speaking has instilled fear among the BLOs. I feel BLOs should be given security, if required by the central forces,” said Union minister and BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar.
CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty blamed both Trinamool and the BJP: “The BLOs have cited genuine reasons to refuse the job.... The way Trinamool leaders put pressure on them, there is little scope for them to perform in an unbiased manner.... The idea of the exercise is to have a proper voter list that protects the voting right of every eligible citizen. The BJP and Trinamool are against having a fair voter list.”
Echoing the CPM, Congress leader Soumya Aich Roy said: “There will be every effort to enlist bogus voters, dead voters, fake voters, D-voters. Therefore, the BLOs will not be able to work and they are rightly afraid. The showcause will have little effect. One party (the BJP) is trying to add voters unfairly while another party (the TMC) is trying to protect bogus voters.”
Refuting the charges, Trinamool spokesperson Arup Chakraborty attacked the poll panel.
“The EC has no right to take such action before the implementation of the model code of conduct. It goes against the Constitution and against the spirit of federalism,” he said.