Congress Leaders Detained in Guwahati as Nationwide Protests Target Chief Election Commissioner

Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and several other senior party leaders were detained in Guwahati on Friday after trying to cross police barricades during a protest. The demonstrators demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The protests follow a media report stating that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections at least 14 times over decisions linked to the SIR, including changes to Form 6 and the handling of electoral roll data. The report claimed these decisions were taken without their knowledge or against their advice. The Congress has launched protests across multiple states, demanding Kumar's resignation and legal action over alleged electoral roll irregularities. In Guwahati, the protest started at the party headquarters near Rajiv Bhawan and aimed to reach the Chief Electoral Officer's office to burn an effigy of the CEC. Speaking during the protest, Gogoi accused the CEC of committing a crime and an act of treason, calling for his resignation and legal action to protect citizens' right to vote. Other leaders detained alongside Gogoi included AICC secretary Manoj Chauhan, Seva Dal president Deep Bayan, and APCC general secretary Udit Bhanu Das. Congress spokesperson Bedabrata Bora stated that the leaders were forcefully arrested. Meanwhile, the Election Commission has rejected claims of institutional dissent, stating that internal observations are normal for a multi-member body and maintaining that final decisions on the SIR were unanimous.