Threat to BLOs will cause anarchy: SC

At a time when the country has witnessed at least 30 booth-level officer (BLO) deaths under duress across 12 states during the Election Commission's second-phase Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the Supreme Court Tuesday voiced serious concern over the alleged lack of cooperation from state governments.

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The bench asked the EC to report any instance of noncooperation or obstruction affecting the work of BLOs, assuring that the court would intervene wherever necessary. When the EC's counsel suggested that the pressure on BLOs stemmed partly from interference by political parties and other external factors, Chief Justice Surya Kant made it clear that the court does not wish to be drawn into a political blame game. “Deal with the situation or it will cause anarchy. Bring the impediments to the functioning of BLOs to our notice, and we will address them,” the CJI said.