‘Gyanesh Gaddar, Gyanesh Chor’: Congress protesters spray-paint slogans on CEC’s Agra home

Agra: The residence of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Agra was defaced on Monday after Congress workers spray-painted slogans calling him a “traitor” and “thief” on the main gate and a wall of the house.

A large number of Congress workers and members of affiliated organisations gathered outside Kumar’s home in Vijay Nagar in the morning, raising slogans against the CEC. They also put up stickers and pasted pamphlets around the residence.

The protesters used spray paint to write “Gyanesh Gaddar, Gyanesh Chor” in Hindi on the gate and wall. Videos and visuals showing the protest and the painted slogans were later circulated on social media.

The Indian Youth Congress also posted about the demonstration on X, accusing Kumar of colluding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over alleged manipulation of elections. The organisation said it would seek to hold Kumar accountable

The demonstration comes as the Congress and the Election Commission remain locked in a growing confrontation over the functioning of the poll panel, including the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Congress workers have staged protests against the Election Commission in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and other parts of the country, alleging that the poll panel has acted in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly targeted CEC Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of taking unconstitutional steps and describing the alleged actions as “treason”.

The latest protests also follow a report published by The Indian Express last week, which said two of the three election commissioners had raised objections on 14 occasions over a 10-month period concerning decisions of the poll panel. The report also said the commissioners had described certain changes in voter enrolment forms as “unauthorised/illegal”.

Opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party, intensified their criticism of the Election Commission and the BJP following the report.

The Election Commission controversy has also drawn criticism from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. On Sunday, he accused the Congress and its allies of weakening democratic institutions for political interests over their attacks on the Election Commission and the SIR.

Adityanath called the opposition's recent statements on the electoral-roll revision “extremely irresponsible” and said the Congress and its allies should apologise to the nation.

Who is Gyanesh Kumar?

Kumar is a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Kerala cadre. He was appointed an election commissioner on March 15, 2024, after retiring from government service on January 31 that year.

He took charge as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner of India on February 19, 2025.