Jantar Mantar, Kolkata, Chandigarh streets: Congress launches nationwide protest against ECI | India News

Congress workers staged protests in several states on Friday, with demonstrations reported in Delhi, Bihar, Assam, Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.In Delhi, party workers gathered at Jantar Mantar, where they raised slogans against Kumar as part of the Congress's nationwide agitation. The protests come amid allegations by the opposition party that the Election Commission has been "compromised" and its demand that Kumar step down.Water cannons and detentionsIn Patna, Congress workers staged a half-kilometre march demanding Kumar's dismissal and arrest. When protesters attempted to cross police barricades and march towards the Election Commission office, the Chandigarh Police used water cannons to stop them. Several Congress leaders and workers were later detained by the police.In Assam, state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and several senior party leaders were detained while attempting to break through police barricades during the protest, police said. The Congress had marched from its state headquarters, Rajiv Bhawan, towards the Chief Electoral Officer's office, where it planned to burn an effigy of the CEC.In Chandigarh, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring led party leaders, MLAs and workers in a protest in Sector 17.Led by West Bengal Congress chief Subhankar Sarkar, party workers marched from outside Calcutta University's College Street campus towards the state chief electoral officer's office on Strand Road amid heavy police deployment. The protesters were stopped at the B B Ganguly Street crossing in central Kolkata, where they burnt an effigy of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and demanded his arrest. Protest in PatnaCongress workers marched towards the poll panel's office in Patna, raising slogans against Kumar and demanding his resignation. Police used water cannons to stop the protesters from reaching the office.During the roughly half-kilometre march, the protesters also alleged that the Election Commission was "compromised". A senior police officer said water cannons were used to prevent the demonstrators from proceeding further.Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram said, "It is clear that the EC is compromised. It's working on the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Our party's stand is clear: CEC Gyanesh Kumar must resign."Similar demonstrations were held in Arunachal Pradesh, where the state Congress staged a protest in Itanagar demanding Kumar's resignation. The party also held protests in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.Congress targets SIR, voter rollsThe nationwide protests follow an Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge, even as the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was being rolled out under the supervision of the full commission.According to the report, the objections related to changes made to the statutory voter registration Form 6, the handling of additions and deletions from electoral rolls, and centralised control over the electoral roll database.The Congress has alleged that Gen Z voters were being targeted for exclusion and has pressed for Kumar's immediate resignation.The Election Commission, however, has maintained that differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberations within any institution. In a statement, the poll panel said all its orders carry full legal sanction and follow established statutory procedures.The EC also said that all three commissioners, as well as every officer of the commission, are authorised to offer suggestions to improve the electoral system.(With PTI, ANI inputs)