Congress leaders were detained after police barricaded the march from Rajiv Bhawan to the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Guwahati
Guwahati: Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president and MP Gaurav Gogoi was detained along with several senior party leaders on Friday after police stopped a Congress protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Guwahati.
The Assam Congress had planned to march from Rajiv Bhawan, the party’s state headquarters, to the Chief Electoral Officer’s office at Janata Bhawan and burn an effigy of Kumar. Police erected barricades near Rajiv Bhawan, and Gogoi and other leaders were detained after attempting to move past them.
Those detained included AICC secretary Manoj Chauhan, Seva Dal president Deep Bayan, APCC general secretary Udit Bhanu Das and several other party leaders. Congress spokesperson Bedabrata Bora alleged that the leaders were “forcefully arrested” and claimed police used force during the demonstration.
Gogoi demanded Kumar’s resignation and legal action, alleging irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of electoral rolls. He also alleged that the poll panel had failed to protect voters’ rights. These remain allegations by the Congress.
The protest came amid the ongoing controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Reports have said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections on several occasions during the process, while the Election Commission has maintained that its decisions were taken collectively and unanimously.
The Assam Congress has announced further district-level protests on September 28.
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