KOLKATA: If any voter aged 85 or above, or any sick or disabled elector, is summoned for an SIR hearing, strict action will be taken against the BLO and BLO supervisor concerned, a senior EC official said on Thursday. TOI had earlier reported several times about the pain and distress of elderly and sick voters standing in long queues. On Dec 29, in an instruction to all district electoral officers (DEOs) and DMs, the office of Bengal’s chief electoral officer (CEO) said voters aged 85 years or above, the sick, and persons with disabilities who make a specific request should not be called for hearings. If notices have already been issued, they should be contacted by phone and asked not to attend, with verification to be carried out at their residences, it added. Despite the instruction, the CEO’s office received several reports from across the state where these categories of voters and pregnant women were asked to personally appear for SIR-related hearings. “We told DEOs that if a single incident happens in violation of instruction, BLOs will face action. What are the BLO supervisors doing? Why does anybody with a broken leg or a serious illness visit the hearing venues? BLOs will make door-to-door visits and take note of such electors. Hearings of these electors will take place in their houses in last week of the hearing process,” the official said, adding that such incidents tarnished the EC’s image.
