From Jantar Mantar To Bengal: Congress Leaders Protest Across Cities, Demand Gyanesh Kumar’s Resignation

News india From Jantar Mantar To Bengal: Congress Leaders Protest Across Cities, Demand Gyanesh Kumar’s Resignation

Last Updated:September 25, 2026, 17:16 IST

Congress protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar erupted across Delhi, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar, with police detentions and water-cannon action.

Congress leaders and workers staged protests in several parts of the country on Friday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the ongoing controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged irregularities in elections. Demonstrations were reported in Delhi, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar and other cities.

In Delhi, several student protesters gathered near Jantar Mantar and called for Kumar’s removal. Police detained several demonstrators as security was tightened around the protest site.

Similar demonstrations were held by Congress workers in other states. In Chandigarh, police used water cannons as Youth Congress workers took part in a protest against the CEC. Congress workers in Kolkata and Bhubaneswar also held demonstrations, demanding action against Kumar over the SIR process.

Trinamool Congress Leader Mahua Moitra also joined the protest at Jantar Mantar and called Gaynesh Kumar a criminal.

“Gyanesh Kumar is a criminal and he needs to be prosecuted. He needs to resign… The police is going to stop the protestors… The SIR process has to stop," she said.

CJP Gives CEC 48 Hours To Resign

The protests come a day after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) gave Gyanesh Kumar 48 hours to resign, warning that it would launch a nationwide agitation if he did not step down. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also announced the group’s “Election Commission Thik Karo" campaign and threatened a fresh protest in Delhi, which the organisation has referred to as “Jantar Mantar 2.0".

The CJP has also demanded a halt to the SIR process, restoration of voter rolls pending verification and an independent inquiry into the removal of names from electoral rolls. These are demands made by the organisation and do not establish that the alleged irregularities occurred.

What’s The Case?

The controversy centres on an investigation by The Indian Express, which reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders taken by the Election Commission. According to the investigation, the two commissioners said some decisions were made without their knowledge and raised concerns over voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, changes to Form 6 and access to the electoral-roll database. Their objections were also copied to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The investigation reported that Sandhu and Joshi had, in separate instances, described certain steps as “unauthorised" and “illegal". They also questioned a change to Form 6, the application used by new voters to register, after it was modified to include questions linked to the previous intensive revision of electoral rolls. The two commissioners had earlier recorded that such a change could not be made without an amendment to the rules.

Concerns Over Electoral Roll Database

Another issue highlighted by the investigation was access to the Election Commission’s electoral-roll database. The two commissioners raised concerns over what they described as the “gradual centralisation" of the voter database and questioned whether state-level election officials continued to have the access required to perform their statutory duties.

The investigation also examined the handling of appeals related to electoral-roll deletions in West Bengal and reported that questions were raised internally over who had authorised certain appeals filed on behalf of the Election Commission. It further reported concerns over changes in the allocation of work related to the IT infrastructure supporting electoral rolls.

According to The Indian Express, the Election Commission did not respond to its detailed questions on the issues raised in the investigation. The report also noted that the three-member Commission held its first full meeting in four months on September 9.

The investigation has since triggered reactions from Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and other political figures, who have cited the reported objections in their criticism of the Election Commission.

Rahul Gandhi Warns CEC

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid the ongoing row over the Election Commission’s electoral-roll revision exercise. In a video message, Gandhi said, “One thing you should listen to carefully: the youth of India will protect the Constitution, expose you, not allow votes to be stolen, and protect democracy." He ended the message by saying, “The picture is still not over."

About the Author

Anushka Vats

Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can ...Read More

Read More