AHMEDABAD: The Congress staged statewide protests across Gujarat on Monday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged large-scale deletion of voters’ names from electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
Alleging that nearly 13 crore voters’ names have been deleted nationwide, the party questioned the Election Commission’s impartiality and accused it of acting under political influence.
In Rajkot, Congress workers staged a dramatic protest by making a young party worker wear a mask of Gyanesh Kumar, tying him with ropes and taking him towards the Collector’s office. Taking a swipe at the BJP-led Centre, the Congress claimed it had accomplished what the government had failed to do by symbolically detaining the Chief Election Commissioner.
Meanwhile, in Vadodara, former Union Minister Bharatsinh Solanki led Congress workers in a black-clad demonstration, wearing black armbands to protest against what they described as the erosion of the Election Commission’s autonomy. Carrying portraits of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and banners questioning whether the Election Commission was an independent constitutional body or a tool of the BJP, protesters raised slogans demanding Kumar’s immediate resignation. Tensions escalated when Congress workers attempted to burn an effigy, triggering a confrontation with police personnel, followed by pushing and shoving.
In Surat, Congress workers intensified the agitation by staging a road blockade, while police began detaining protesters. Party leaders from the city and district units joined the demonstration, with workers raising slogans such as “Vote thief, quit the seat” and displaying placards questioning the fairness of the electoral process.
The agitation also spread to Junagadh, where the District Congress Committee submitted a memorandum to the Collector, alleging that Congress-supporting voters were being selectively removed from electoral rolls under the SIR exercise. Party workers, including Karshanbhas Bhadarka, participated in the protest.
With demonstrations reported across multiple cities, the Gujarat Congress has stepped up its attack on the Election Commission, making alleged voter deletions and institutional independence the central issues of its statewide agitation.