Congress protests intensify as Gaurav Gogoi is detained; demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar quit

A protest over electoral rolls in Guwahati on Friday ended with Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi and several party leaders being detained, as the Congress intensified its nationwide campaign demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The detention came amid demonstrations by Congress workers across several states over the functioning of the Election Commission and its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

From Guwahati and Kolkata to Chandigarh, Patna and Bhopal, the protests brought the increasingly bitter dispute over electoral rolls and the poll panel's functioning onto the streets.

In Guwahati, Gogoi and other senior leaders were detained while protesting against Kumar.

In Chandigarh and Patna, police used water cannons to disperse protesters, while the Jantar Mantar protest site in Delhi was closed to demonstrators.

Security was also deployed outside the Election Commission office in the national capital ahead of a Delhi Congress demonstration over the SIR exercise.

The Indian Youth Congress was scheduled to march from Raisina Road to Jantar Mantar.

The protests have gathered momentum following an Indian Express investigation which reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders concerning the electoral-roll process. According to the report, their objections covered issues including the registration of new voters, deletion and restoration of names, appeals against voter-related orders and access to electoral-roll databases.

The report has become a major flashpoint in the political dispute surrounding the SIR exercise.

It said Sandhu and Joshi had objected to certain decisions being taken without their knowledge, including matters concerning voter registration and deletion.

The objections also included concerns over changes to the functioning and oversight of the Election Commission's IT systems.

The Election Commission, however, has rejected the suggestion that the objections represented institutional or structural dissent.

The poll panel has maintained that operational queries, internal feedback and administrative suggestions are part of the normal functioning of a multi-member constitutional body, and has said that final decisions, including those concerning SIR, were unanimous.

Protests spread across states

The Congress campaign has extended well beyond Delhi and Assam.

In Bhopal, the Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress protested outside the Chief Electoral Officer's office, demanding Kumar's resignation. Protesters carried posters accusing the CEC of wrongdoing and raised slogans including 'arrest Gyanesh Kumar for treason' and 'Vote-Chori magic trick exposed'.

In Dehradun, Congress workers staged a demonstration demanding Kumar's resignation, with Congress MP Kumari Selja leading the protest.

In Punjab, Pradesh Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring sought Kumar's dismissal, an FIR against him and his alleged collaborators, and their arrest.

He also announced a march to the Election Commission office in Chandigarh under the leadership of Sachin Pilot.

In Karnataka, the Pradesh Congress Committee filed a police complaint seeking action against Kumar and BJP MLA Abhay Patil over allegations concerning voting rights and electoral-roll manipulation.

Congress alleged that Patil had sought deletion of names of eligible voters and sought penal action against Kumar over alleged arbitrary deletions.

Congress workers also protested in Kolkata, demanding Kumar's resignation.

CJP threatens nationwide agitation

The political pressure has also extended beyond the Congress.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said on Friday that his organisation would launch nationwide protests from October 2 if Kumar did not resign by Saturday.

In a post on X, Dipke said the campaign would begin in Mumbai on Gandhi Jayanti before moving to other cities.

The announcement followed his earlier demand for Kumar's resignation and threat of a 'Jantar Mantar 2.0' agitation.

Youth Congress takes campaign online

The Indian Youth Congress has simultaneously taken its campaign into the digital space.

On Thursday, it launched a nationwide online citizens' petition titled 'Gyanesh, It's Done Bro', calling for action against Kumar and urging citizens, particularly young people, to participate in a campaign centred on electoral transparency and accountability.

The organisation has demanded Kumar's removal as CEC, along with his arrest and prosecution.

It has also sought an investigation into electoral-roll procedures, the alleged BJP connection raised by the campaign and the release of electoral records and internal objections.

Opposition prepares removal motion

The confrontation is also moving towards Parliament. Opposition parties are preparing to move a motion seeking Kumar's removal in both Houses, with the Congress reaching out to other opposition parties, according to party sources.

A notice is expected to be submitted in the coming days as the dispute over the ECI and SIR continues to escalate.

The issue is also expected to come up at the Congress Working Committee meeting scheduled for September 29 in New Delhi.

Rahul Gandhi escalates allegations

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has sharpened the party's attack on the Election Commission, alleging on Thursday that elections in India, including the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and several Assembly contests, had been 'rigged'.

Gandhi demanded Kumar's immediate resignation and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were at the top of a conspiracy. He also called on the CEC to 'turn Approver'.

Congress leader Vikrant Bhuria, defending Gandhi's allegations in Raipur, said the party's claims were based on what it described as evidence of voter deletions, additions and irregularities in electoral rolls.

These remain allegations made by Congress and its leaders, rather than established findings against the individuals named.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also defended her brother's allegations, saying Congress had presented what it considered facts and evidence.

She alleged that 13 crore voters had been deleted and described the alleged interference with elections as illegal.

The Election Commission has rejected the broader allegations surrounding the electoral process, while maintaining that its decisions are taken within the statutory framework governing electoral rolls and that the SIR process is part of its mandate.

Union minister Chirag Paswan, meanwhile, said that if questions were being raised about the Election Commission, the CEC had a responsibility to clearly present his position to the public.

He said doubts about the electoral process itself were problematic and that the poll panel needed to explain its position.

Supreme Court plea adds another layer

The controversy has also reached the Supreme Court.

A petition filed before the apex court has challenged alleged unilateral decisions attributed to CEC Gyanesh Kumar in connection with the revision of electoral rolls, including the SIR exercise.

The petitioner has sought an SIT investigation into the alleged deletion of around 13 crore voters and a declaration that decisions allegedly taken without the concurrence of the other two Election Commissioners were illegal.

The plea has also sought restoration of the original Form 6 used for voter registration and prosecution of Kumar, Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg and ECI IT head Seema Khanna for alleged violations of their statutory duties.

The petition's allegations remain subject to judicial consideration.

For now, the dispute has moved simultaneously across three fronts: the streets, Parliament and the courts.

At the centre of it is the Election Commission's handling of electoral-roll revision, the reported objections raised by two Election Commissioners and competing claims over whether those objections point to institutional disagreement or routine internal scrutiny