Thiruvananthapuram: In a powerful display of solidarity with a Booth Level Officer (BLO) who died by suicide due to job stress, the Secretariat Action Council marched to the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office, staging a symbolic hanging protest.
Braving heavy rain, the demonstrators held placards asking poignant questions like, “SIR is a death trap, how many more lives do you need to open your eyes, Election Commission?”, “Will I be next?”, “Is my fate to be an SIR martyr?”, and “Is the Election Commission an executioner?”.
The protest featured five participants symbolically positioned in nooses, representing BLOs suffering under the pressure.
Convenor of the march, M. S. Ershad, inaugurated the protest. He stated that what is currently happening in Kerala is not SIR (Special Intensive Revision) but SDR (Staff Death Revision). He warned that if the situation continues, the Special Intensive Revision will become the Staff Death Revision by December 4th, highlighting the extreme mental pressure faced by the employees.
Impossible Targets and Harassment
Irshad heavily criticized the election officials for imposing “impossible targets” on BLOs, such as distributing 3,000 forms for enumeration within a mere 48 hours. He alleged that while employees are subjected to unbearable harassment, the Election Commission not only fails to show sympathy but instead watches, enjoys, and perpetrates further torture, becoming “sadists.”
