Guwahati: A protest by the Assam Congress against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar ended with police detaining party president Gaurav Gogoi and several senior leaders on Friday.
The party had planned a march to the Chief Electoral Officer’s office from Rajiv Bhawan, its state headquarters, where protesters intended to burn an effigy of the CEC.
The march was stopped after police erected barricades in the area around Rajiv Bhawan. Gogoi and other Congress leaders tried to move past the barriers, leading to their detention.
Those taken into custody included AICC secretary Manoj Chauhan, Seva Dal president Deep Bayan and APCC general secretary Udit Bhanu Das. Several other party leaders were also detained.
Congress spokesperson Bedabrata Bora objected to the police action, alleging that the leaders had been “forcefully arrested”. He also described the action as “yet another threat to democracy”.
Gogoi demanded Kumar’s resignation and called for legal action against him. The Assam Congress president said there were irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission.
Gogoi also alleged that Kumar had committed a crime and an act of treason and called for his arrest, along with that of people whom he alleged were supporting him. He named Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah while making the allegation.
The Congress leader linked the dispute to what he described as the basic voting rights of citizens. He alleged that the Election Commission had failed in its responsibility to protect electoral rolls.
Gogoi said democracy depended on fair elections and protection of citizens’ voting rights, and alleged that these principles had been violated.
He also accused the poll panel of failing to keep voter lists “safe and secure”, alleging that its actions instead amounted to an attack on democracy.
The demonstration took place against the backdrop of the continuing dispute over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The controversy has included reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally raised objections 14 times during a 10-month period over procedures, changes to databases and the SIR process.
The poll panel said the objections should not be viewed as evidence of a disagreement within the three-member body. It said such observations form part of the internal process followed by a multi-member constitutional institution and maintained that the decisions taken on the SIR had the support of all members.
Meanwhile, Congress has been holding demonstrations in different states over the issue. The party has called for Kumar to step down and sought legal action over what it alleges were irregularities in the handling of electoral rolls.