EC asks city police for action-taken report on BLO protests
The Statesman | 27 November 2025
Election Commission of India (ECI) has written to the city Commissioner of Police, Manoj Verma, asking for the action taken report (ATR) after a section of booth level officers (BLOs) protested in front of the Chief Electoral officer’s (CEO) office till Tuesday.
The ECI has written to the police chief regarding the security of the protesting officials. It feels that the current security arrangement at the CEO’s office is not adequate, said a source.
The ECI letter to the city police chief talks of stepping up security at the CEO’s office and also on providing security at the residences of the officers and staff posted in the office of the CEO, West Bengal. It mentions security to the said officers and staff when they commute from home to office and back.
The commission has also directed the Kolkata Police to ensure that adequate security classification is done, considering the sensitivity involved due to SIR activities and the forthcoming elections in the state scheduled next year. The city police authorities have also been asked to ensure that no untoward incident occurs in the future, insiders said.
At the protest site, the situation turned worse on Monday night when a group of BJP workers led by the party councillor and leader Sajal Ghosh went to the spot.
On Tuesday evening, the BJP claimed that the protest by a section of the BLOs involved in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in front of the CEO’s office was nothing but a “Trinamul Congress-orchestrated circus to intimidate ECI and sabotage democracy”.
On Wednesday morning, Governor CV Ananda Bose issued a firm remark on the protest. “These are issues that the administration will have to take care of. If there is any failure on their part, I will certainly intervene,” the Governor said.
Meanwhile, a team of three officers from the Election Commission of India would visit the state from tomorrow to oversee the ground reality and status of the ongoing SIR process in the state.