Odisha Congress protest seeks CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s removal

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Congress workers on Friday attempted to surround the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer in Bhubaneswar, demanding the removal and resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the electoral process.

The demonstration was part of the Congress’s nationwide protest against the Election Commission and Kumar. Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das led the march from the Additional District Magistrate’s office to the CEO’s office. Police stopped the protesters and detained several party workers, according to reports.

Addressing reporters during the agitation, Das accused the Election Commission of acting in favour of the BJP-led Union government. He said allegations raised by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over alleged “vote theft” had been vindicated.

Das alleged that the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls was carried out in a manner that undermined the democratic process. He claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected to decisions taken by the Commission on 14 occasions over the past 10 months, but that their concerns were disregarded.

He further alleged that the two commissioners had sometimes learnt about important Commission decisions and operational details through media reports, suggesting that they had not been adequately consulted.

The OPCC president also questioned the alleged alteration of Form 6, which is used to apply for the inclusion of names in electoral rolls. According to Das, Joshi objected to the change, but the objection was not accepted.

Das also alleged that the agendas of several Commission meetings were not circulated in advance and that their proceedings were not made public afterwards. He referred to letters allegedly sent by the two commissioners to the Cabinet Secretary, claiming that Kumar had violated provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

The Congress leader rejected the Election Commission’s assertion that decisions were taken unanimously despite differences among its members, describing the explanation as unacceptable.

He demanded Kumar’s resignation or removal through impeachment and supported calls for criminal proceedings against him. Das said the agitation would continue until action was taken against the Chief Election Commissioner.

The protests followed a wider political dispute over the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Congress demonstrations were reported in several states on Friday, with detentions and clashes with police in some places.