Doomdooma: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday staged a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Doomdooma in Tinsukia district of Upper Assam.
The protesters were demanding his resignation over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Several mass organisations affiliated with the CPI(M) staged a protest outside the Doomdooma Revenue Circle Office, accusing the Election Commission of risking the exclusion of eligible citizens from the electoral process.
Holding placards and raising slogans demanding Kumar’s resignation, the protesters alleged that the revision exercise could undermine citizens’ constitutional right to vote.
“The right to vote is a constitutional right, and no eligible citizen should be deprived of it in the name of revising electoral rolls,” a protester said.
The demonstration was organised by the Doomdooma regional committees of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India Kisan Sabha, All India Democratic Women’s Association, Democratic Youth Federation of India and Students’ Federation of India as part of a wider opposition to the SIR exercise.
The protesters held the Election Commission responsible for ensuring that no eligible voter was arbitrarily excluded from electoral rolls and called for accountability over the exercise.
“The Election Commission must ensure that the revision process does not deny genuine voters their democratic rights. We demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar,” another protester said.
The SIR exercise has triggered a wider political controversy, with opposition parties and civil society groups raising concerns about documentation requirements, verification procedures and discrepancies in electoral records.
Critics have warned that economically vulnerable citizens, migrant workers and elderly people could face difficulties establishing their eligibility.
“The protest in Doomdooma reflects these wider concerns over balancing the accuracy of electoral rolls with the protection of every eligible citizen’s right to vote,” local social worker Rajen Bhumij said.