Meghalaya Congress Protests Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Guwahati: Today, Congress workers in Meghalaya, staged a protest in Shillong, burning an effigy of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and demanding his removal and arrest amid a controversy over the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The protest, led by Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee president Vincent H Pala, began with a procession from Congress Bhavan and culminated near the Additional Secretariat, where party workers burnt the effigy.

Addressing the protesters, Pala alleged that Kumar had “manipulated the system” and ignored objections raised by the two other Election Commissioners. He also alleged irregularities in electoral rolls in Haryana, Maharashtra and West Bengal, and called for an inquiry following Kumar’s resignation.

The protest comes amid reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months regarding various decisions linked to electoral rolls and the SIR exercise.

The Election Commission, however, has rejected suggestions of a split within the three-member panel. It has maintained that people observations during deliberations did not amount to disagreement with final decisions and said that decisions, including those concerning the SIR, were taken unanimously.

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