Gaurav Gogoi Detained, Water Cannons Fired as Congress Protests Gyanesh Kumar

The Congress on Friday took its campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to the streets, organising protests in multiple states and demanding his resignation over the controversy surrounding the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

Congress workers staged demonstrations in Delhi, Patna, Guwahati, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Jammu, Punjab and Arunachal Pradesh, with protesters seeking accountability from the poll panel’s leadership.

In Delhi, party workers attempted to march towards the Election Commission headquarters, leading to a confrontation with police. Protesters broke through barricades as security personnel tried to halt the march, and several Congress workers were detained.

The Indian Youth Congress held a separate demonstration in the national capital. Some protesters wore masks depicting Gyanesh Kumar’s face, while others appeared with chains around their hands. They marched from the IYC office on Raisina Road towards the Election Commission, raising slogans and displaying placards calling for Kumar’s resignation.

In Assam, state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi was among those detained during the party’s protest. Police used water cannons to disperse Congress demonstrators in Patna, while similar marches were held in other state capitals.

The nationwide protests followed a report in The Indian Express that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over a 10-month period to certain decisions and orders related to the electoral-roll revision.

The reported objections included changes to statutory voter registration Form 6, the process for adding and deleting names from electoral rolls and the centralised management of the electoral-roll database.

The Election Commission has defended its decision-making process, saying differences of opinion and observations are a normal part of deliberations within any institution. The poll body maintained that its orders have full legal backing and follow established statutory procedures.

The EC also said that all three commissioners, as well as its officers, are authorised to put forward suggestions for improving the electoral system.

The reported differences have nevertheless intensified the political confrontation over the SIR process. The Congress and other Opposition parties have increased pressure on Kumar and called for his removal.

At a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi accused Kumar of being a “traitor”, demanded his resignation and said the Congress would not remain silent over what he described as the destruction of democracy in India.

The protests on Friday marked another escalation in the Congress’ campaign against the CEC, with the SIR exercise and reported disagreements within the Election Commission at the centre of the political dispute.