Water Cannons Used, Gaurav Gogoi Detained As Congress Holds Protests Against Gyanesh Kumar

The Congress on Friday launched its nationwide protest campaign against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar with demonstrations in various parts of the country. From Delhi to Patna to Jammu to Kolkata to Punjab to Assam and Arunachal, Congress workers took to the streets demanding Kumar's resignation.

In Delhi, a major Congress protest saw dramatic scenes with the party leaders breaking barricades and trying to march towards the Election Commission office to demand CEC's resignation. Several Congress workers were detained as the police tried to stop the march.

"Gyanesh Kumar must resign immediately. We are not going to let democracy be destroyed in India and sit silent, and the people responsible for this are going to be punished," Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav said.

Earlier, wearing masks bearing Gyanesh Kumar's face and with their hands bound in chains, Indian Youth Congress workers on Friday protested in Delhi against the Election Commission, demanding Kumar's resignation over alleged differences among the poll panel's top officers on key electoral decisions.

The protesters raised slogans and displayed posters and banners demanding accountability from Kumar as they marched from the IYC office on Raisina Road towards the Election Commission headquarters. In Assam, state Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi and several workers were detained during the party's protest against the CEC.

Congress protest in Patna on Friday. PTI Photo In Bihar's capital Patna, police used water cannons on Congress workers who staged a march to the poll panel's office. Similar protest marches were organised by the Opposition party in several state capitals, including Kolkata, Chandigarh, Jammu other parts of the country.

The Congress on Thursday had directed its state units to organise protest marches to their respective state election commission offices on September 25, demanding the CEC's immediate arrest, removal from office, and an independent review of all decisions and electoral roll changes made under him.

This came after an Indian Express report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over the last 10 months to decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge, even as the national rollout of the SIR was under the supervision of the full commission.

Their objections covered the manner in which the statutory voter registration Form 6 was amended, the handling of additions and deletions from voter lists, and centralised control over the electoral roll database, according to the report.

Under fire over the red flags raised by two of its commissioners over the SIR process, the EC has asserted that differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberations in any institution and all its orders carry full legal sanction and follow established statutory procedures.

Congress workers detained in Delhi. PTI Photo In a statement, the poll panel also said that not only the three commissioners, but every officer of the EC is fully authorised to give suggestions to the commission to improve the electoral system.

The Congress and the Opposition have upped the ante demanding removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar after the damning report. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi termed Kumar a "traitor", demanded his resignation and warned that the Congress would not remain silent and watch democracy in India "being destroyed".