The protest by Congress party against Gyanesh Kumar, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls turned tense on Monday when demonstrators forced their way through police barricades near the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) headquarters in Civil Lines. Around 200 Congress leaders, workers and citizens had gathered at Samvidhan Chowk on Monday morning, carrying black balloons, party flags and placards targeting Kumar, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the incumbent Government. A protester wearing a mask depicting Kumar, with his hands shown in handcuffs, became a feature of the demonstration. Congress leaders alleged that eligible voters were being excluded from electoral rolls through the SIR exercise and demanded Kumar’s removal as Chief Election Commissioner.

 

After sloganeering at Samvidhan Chowk, the protesters marched towards Mitha Neem Dargah Chowk and proceeded towards the District Collectorate. But the Police stopped the procession near the DCP Traffic headquarters and erected barricades to prevent the march from moving ahead. The situation escalated after protesters burned an effigy representing Kumar. Several demonstrators climbed onto the barricades and continued raising slogans. While police attempted to stop them, protesters were successful in using force to push through the barricades. Police subsequently detained several Congress leaders and workers and took them in police vans to the Commissioner of Police office. Congress leaders said the agitation was against what they alleged was misuse of constitutional and administrative powers. They demanded action against Kumar and said the party would continue opposing measures they believe undermine voting rights. The protest was organised by the Nagpur Congress under president Prafull Gudadhe. 

 

 

Frustrated by repeated electoral defeats, the Congress and the opposition’s India Alliance are deliberately conspiring to defame the country’s autonomous and constitutional institutions, alleged BJP leader MLA Dr Parinay Fuke and former Mayor Dayashankar Tiwari, while addressing a press conference held at Press Club in Civil Lines on Monday. Dr Fuke stated that the full bench of Election Commission of India (ECI) has burst the opposition’s balloon of false propaganda by issuing a joint statement. In a meeting held on September 26, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Dr S S Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi clarified that all key policy decisions, including nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR), were taken unanimously. Supreme Court of India had already granted legal validation to this entire process on May 27, 2026. Therefore, opposition’s claims of internal rifts are completely baseless. Addressing the controversy surrounding an alleged letter sent to the Union Cabinet Secretary, Tiwari explained that the communication had nothing to do with Commission’s IT department or SIR policies. Instead, it was an internal administrative matter concerning standard operating procedures for an officer on deputation. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has already upheld the validity of the declaration annexed to Form 6 for voter registration. The leaders noted that whether it was questioning the 2016 surgical strikes, tendering an unconditional apology before the Supreme Court for the ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ remark in 2019, or dubbing EVMs a ‘black box’, Rahul Gandhi has consistently slung mud at the armed forces, the judiciary, and the Election Commission. They demanded that the Congress leadership offer an unconditional apology to the nation and its constitutional bodies for relying on fabricated narratives after being rejected by the electorate.