Patna, July 16 (IANS) The Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani on Wednesday clarified his threatening remarks of violence at the houses of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), and stated that his statement has been taken out of context.

He went a step further, urging the Centre and state governments to ‘reward’ the BLOs with a bonus for putting in extra hours, a remark showing his U-turn from his previous ‘provocative’ stand.

The VIP chief, speaking to IANS, stated that the residents of Bihar are serious and sensitive about their right to vote, and if they are denied voting rights after the voter verification drive and publication of new electoral rolls, this may lead to a precarious situation.

“Since BLOs remain at the forefront of the distribution, collection and uploading of enumeration forms on the ECI (Election Commission of India) portal, it is they who will face the brunt of people’s anger. People will confront the BLOs and not the higher officers, and this may lead to a situation where things go out of control,” he explained.

Mukesh Sahani, who previously served as minister in the Bihar government, also came down heavily on the ECI’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and stated that the entire procedure was faulty and defective. He said that such an intensive drive isn’t possible in a short period.

Questioning the timing of ‘SIR’, he said, “This should have been conducted either before the Lok Sabha polls or after the upcoming Assembly elections. What kind of message is EC giving by introducing such an extensive campaign in such a short time?”

“Were the Lok Sabha elections inappropriate? Should the elected MPs be disqualified because of faulty voter ID cards?” he asked.

He claimed that the BLOs are working under intense pressure and are stretching for long hours, and this calls for enhanced enumeration and a one-month bonus for them.

A day ago, his remarks stirred major political uproar in Bihar, with many parties, including the BJP and JD(U), denouncing his remarks as ‘provocative and inflammatory’.

A Bihar BJP leader said that VIP remains a non-player in the state’s political arena and hence it was resorting to such stunts to grab public attention, while JD(U) called it an after-effect of the alliance partner (read RJD).

The VIP chief’s comments that sparked furore read, “If people are deprived of their voting rights, this will create widespread chaos and spiral out of control, even the Election Commission would find it difficult to contain. Those facing the brunt of this unjust and discriminatory policy will storm the houses of BLOs and even go to the extent of torching them. And, for all this, EC will be accountable.”

–IANS

mr/dpb