Protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar erupted across the country on Friday as the Congress launched a nationwide agitation seeking his resignation, even as Kumar's planned visits to Meerut and Varanasi were postponed.
Congress workers took to the streets in several states, attempting to march towards or gherao Election Commission offices. Police detained protesters in several places and used water cannons and tear gas in some locations.
Amid the agitation, reports said Kumar's planned visits to Meerut and Varanasi had been postponed. Senior Election Commission sources, however, claimed that the decision to cancel the visit had nothing to do with the controversy.
The protests came after a newspaper report claimed there were dissonance within the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
In Delhi, police detained protesters at Jantar Mantar who were demanding Kumar's resignation. TMC MP Mahua Moitra also participated in the demonstration. "Gyanesh Kumar is a criminal and he needs to be prosecuted. He needs to resign," Moitra alleged. She also demanded that the SIR process be stopped.
The Delhi Congress separately staged a protest demanding Kumar's resignation and an independent audit of the SIR of electoral rolls. Party workers gathered at the Delhi Congress office on Rouse Avenue and marched towards the BJP headquarters before proceeding towards the Election Commission office at Nirvachan Sadan.
In Lucknow, Congress workers protested against the CEC despite heavy rain and demanded his resignation. Police detained protesters during the agitation.
The Uttarakhand Congress staged a protest and attempted to gherao the Election Commission office at the state Secretariat, demanding the dissolution of the Election Commission of India and Kumar's immediate removal.
In Haryana, the Congress demanded Kumar's arrest and a review of his decisions. Police used water cannons to prevent protesters from gheraoing the office of the chief electoral officer. The demonstration was held under the leadership of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana Congress chief Rao Narender Singh and party state affairs in-charge Sanjay Dutt.
Punjab Congress workers also faced water cannons as they attempted to march towards the Election Commission office in Chandigarh. The protest, led by state unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, demanded Kumar's dismissal and arrest.
In Assam, state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and several senior party leaders were detained while attempting to break through police barricades during a protest seeking Kumar's removal.
Congress workers in Shillong in Meghalaya burnt an effigy of the CEC while demanding his removal and arrest. The procession, led by state Congress president Vincent H. Pala, began at Congress Bhavan and ended near the Additional Secretariat.
Scores of Congress workers and leaders were also detained in Jammu during a protest led by Congress MP and AICC general secretary Syed Naseer Hussain. Protesters raised slogans against Kumar and burnt his effigy while attempting to march towards the Election Commission office.
In Manipur, Congress members burnt effigies of Kumar outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer at Lamphel. Police fired a few tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.
In Odisha, Congress workers attempted to gherao the Chief Electoral Officer's office in Bhubaneswar. Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee leaders and workers, led by state president Bhakta Charan Das, marched from the additional district magistrate's office towards the CEO's office. Police detained several protesters after stopping them from proceeding further.
The Arunachal Pradesh Congress also held a demonstration in Itanagar as part of the nationwide agitation. The state unit demanded Kumar's resignation, a halt to the SIR exercise and an independent inquiry into decisions concerning electoral rolls.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray demanded that the SIR exercise be scrapped and started afresh.
Thackeray alleged that the BJP had used the exercise as a "weapon" since 2025 and claimed that irregularities surrounding the process meant that "the entire SIR process must be scrapped".
—With agency inputs
