PTI, New Delhi: Congress on Friday intensified its campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, staging protests across the country and demanding his immediate removal and arrest.
The party sought an independent review of decisions and electoral-roll changes taken under Kumar, while alleging that the Election Commission had mounted an “unprecedented attack” on voter equality. The Election Commission has rejected allegations of unilateral functioning, saying its orders over the past year were unanimous.
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The protests followed a report by The Indian Express that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders concerning electoral-roll management, including voter registration, deletion and restoration of names and access to electoral data.
In Delhi, Congress workers marched from the party office on Rouse Avenue towards the BJP headquarters and subsequently the Election Commission headquarters at Nirvachan Sadan, demanding Kumar’s resignation and an independent audit of the SIR exercise. Indian Youth Congress workers separately protested wearing masks bearing Kumar’s face and with their hands bound in chains.
Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said decisions taken by Kumar, including those concerning SIR, were “null and void”.
“We are sure the Supreme Court is watching what is happening and will take the right steps at the right time,” he said.
“We want to say to Gyanesh Kumar: It’s done bro. Heed Rahul Gandhi’s advice – resign and turn approver,” Khera said, adding that Kumar would have to face trial if he did not do so.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said the protests demanding Kumar’s removal were “just the beginning” and announced that all district Congress committees would hold marches to district collectorates on September 28.
The demonstrations spread across several states. In Guwahati, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and other senior leaders were detained after attempting to cross police barricades. In Lucknow, Congress workers clashed with police after being stopped from marching towards the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
In Chandigarh, police used water cannons as Punjab Congress workers led by state chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring attempted to march towards the Election Commission office. Similar water-cannon action was reported in Patna and Haryana.
Congress workers were detained in Jammu after brief scuffles with security personnel, while Odisha Congress attempted to gherao the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Bhubaneswar. Several protesters were detained.
In Shimla, Congress workers demonstrated outside the EC office demanding Kumar’s removal and arrest, while Meghalaya Congress workers burnt an effigy of the CEC in Shillong.
The controversy has also moved into the legal arena. A PIL filed in the Supreme Court has sought action over alleged unilateral decisions on SIR and an SIT probe into the deletion of voter names.
