Bhubaneswar: Odisha Congress on Friday attempted to gherao the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) here, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The protest was part of the party’s nationwide agitation after a newspaper report claimed disquiet within the poll panel over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Led by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das, several party leaders and workers took out a march from the additional district magistrate’s office towards the CEO’s office carrying posters and banners.
Police stopped the agitators midway and detained several leaders and workers. Congress alleged that its supporters clashed with police personnel after being prevented from proceeding.”CEC Gyanesh Kumar has been exposed. He committed an unapologetic crime by supporting ‘vote chori’. If he continues in his post, our country and democracy will be destroyed. We demand his resignation and arrest,” Das told reporters.
Senior leader and former OPCC president Jaydev Jena alleged that the BJP government has “destroyed democracy” and claimed Kumar had helped it.
“We will continue our protest until Kumar resigns,” he said. Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra Kadam said, “The media report on objections raised by two Election Commissioners has proved our leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote chori’ allegation. The party will intensify its protest till Kumar resigns.
“The protest follows an Indian Express report on Wednesday that claimed Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over the last 10 months to decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge, even as the national rollout of SIR was under the supervision of the full commission.
Responding to the report, the Election Commission said differing views and observations were a normal part of deliberations in any institution and that all its orders had full legal sanction and followed established statutory procedures. It added that not only the three Election Commissioners but every officer of the EC was authorised to give suggestions to improve the electoral system.
