EC faces flak for 'Boogie Woogie' dance video on SIR amid BLO suicides

With several reported cases of deaths involving booth-level officers (BLOs) from different parts of the country, the Election Commission is under immense scrutiny with questions surrounding the practicality of the task assigned to the BLOs and allotted timeframe within which the exercise needs to be completed.

A video uploaded by the poll body is drawing intense criticism as people say it is extremely insensitive of the commission to share a clip against the backdrop of several reported deaths of BLOs.

The video showed a dance instructor making a hall full of election officials, including block level officers (BLOs), grooving to a “boogie woogie” dance song. The video, part of ECI’s ‘SIR Joyathan’, has come under intense criticism online as many called it ‘tone deaf’ at a time when BLOs were under immense stress, and several officers were taking their own lives.

However, the ECI’s idea of a “fun time” did not sit well with several social media users, who called it tone deaf and insensitive as several BLO suicides cast a dark shadow over the SIR exercise. “What shamelessness, Election Commission. Not a word is coming out in honour of those who died; instead, taunts are being made through such videos,” a user said.