Congress protests nationwide, demands arrest of Chief Election Commissioner

The Congress party has intensified its agitation against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, holding protests across the country demanding his resignation. In cities including Lucknow, Patna, Guwahati and Jammu, Congress workers took to the streets and raised slogans against the Chief Election Commissioner and the BJP.

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gaurav Gogoi demanded action against the Chief Election Commissioner during a protest in Guwahati. Gogoi said that after the allegations against Gyanesh Kumar came to light, he should resign, face legal action and be arrested. Protesters warned that their agitation would continue until Gyanesh Kumar is removed from his post and a criminal case is registered against him.

In Patna, Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president Rajesh Ram led the protest. Rajesh Ram claimed that Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly raised the issue of alleged vote theft before the Election Commission, and that it has now been proven that the governments in Bihar, Haryana and Maharashtra came to power because of alleged vote theft. He alleged that the Election Commission has not yet responded to the issues raised by Rahul Gandhi, and that this is why Congress has taken to the streets demanding that a case be registered against Gyanesh Kumar. Police used water cannons to disperse Congress workers protesting in Patna.

In Himachal Pradesh too, Congress leaders and workers protested outside the state Election Commission office over issues related to the Election Commission. During the protest, some demonstrators reportedly smeared black ink on a government board outside the office.

Heavy police deployment was in place outside the Election Commission office and in the Jantar Mantar area in New Delhi, where Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and Congress workers protested. Congress leaders in Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal also held protests demanding Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.

The entire controversy began after a media report claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections 14 times over the past 10 months on decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. These alleged objections reportedly concerned voter registration, the removal or addition of voters' names, and access to the voter database.

Following this report, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi alleged irregularities in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and some assembly elections. He demanded strict action against those he said were harming democracy by attacking voters' rights.