BLOs protest Revanth Reddy’s remarks, wear black badges

Booth Level Officers in Telangana have protested Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's remarks on their work during the Special Intensive Revision exercise by wearing black badges and demanding that he withdraw his comments, citing significant progress in completing the enumeration process.

Mahabubnagar: Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have strongly objected to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy‘s remarks on their functioning and demanded that he withdraw his comments. As a mark of protest, the BLOs have been reporting for duty wearing black badges. They have also decided to continue wearing the badges until the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise is completed.

Speaking at a programme in Kodangal on Wednesday, the Chief Minister stated that even if BLOs did not perform their duties and remained idle or asleep, they would get their salaries. He said they should continue working until August 3 to earn their salaries and had nothing to lose, adding that welfare and development would not be affected. Objecting to these remarks, the BLOs submitted representations to their respective Tahsildars seeking their withdrawal.

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In Narayanpet, on Thursday, the BLOs under the banner of the Telangana Anganwadi Teachers and Helpers union (CITU) submitted a representation at the Tahsildar’s office. According to the BLOs, nearly 82 per cent of the SIR exercise has been completed in Kodangal constituency, about 84 per cent in Narayanpet and around 83 per cent in Makthal. They said it was disappointing that the Chief Minister made disparaging remarks despite the progress achieved.

“If BLOs had not carried out the SIR exercise effectively up to 84 per cent, then who accomplished the task? Is it fair to demoralise those who work hard and blame them in a public forum?” Narayanpet union district president Sasikala and district secretary Sivakumari said in a statement.