Congress Steps Up Protest Against CEC, Demonstrations Held Across India

New Delhi, Sep 26 : The Congress on Friday intensified its campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, staging demonstrations across several parts of the country with the participation of opposition parties and groups. Protesters sought Kumar’s removal and arrest and attempted to march towards Election Commission offices in different states.

Police detained several demonstrators and used water cannons at some locations to prevent protesters from moving beyond barricades.

The opposition parties also demanded an independent probe into alleged irregularities in the electoral process, an immediate suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and a review of decisions taken by the Election Commission during Kumar’s tenure.

In a post on X on Friday evening, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said the campaign would continue, asserting that Kumar’s removal was only a matter of time. Describing the demonstrations as “just the beginning”, Venugopal said a larger mobilisation in defence of democracy would follow.

In Assam, state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and several senior party leaders were detained while attempting to cross barricades outside the party headquarters and march towards the office of the chief electoral officer.

Similar demonstrations were held in Jammu and Bhubaneswar, where several senior Congress leaders and workers were taken into custody during the nationwide agitation.

In Lucknow, Congress workers clashed with police after being stopped from marching towards the state assembly. In Patna, police used water cannons against Bihar Congress workers led by state unit president Rajesh Ram.

Protests were also reported in Chandigarh, where demonstrations by the Punjab and Haryana Congress units were met with water cannons. The Punjab agitation was led by state Congress president Amrinder Raja Warring.