Gaurav Gogoi detained during protest demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's removal

Gaurav Gogoi and several senior Assam Congress leaders were detained while trying to cross police barricades during a protest demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The Congress had marched from Rajiv Bhawan towards the CEO's office to burn an effigy of Kumar.Assam Congress chief Gaurav GogoiGuwahati,Sep 25, 2026 14:59 ISTAssam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and several senior party leaders were detained on Friday while trying to cross police barricades during a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, police said.The Congress, led by Gogoi, took out a march from its state headquarters, Rajiv Bhawan, and planned to proceed towards the Chief Electoral Officer's office to burn an effigy of the CEC.Police had put up barricades near Rajiv Bhawan. Gogoi and other protesting leaders attempted to cross the barricades, following which they were detained.Congress spokesperson Bedabrata Bora alleged that the leaders were "forcefully arrested" and claimed that "this is yet another threat to democracy". Besides Gogoi, those detained included AICC secretary Manoj Chauhan, Seva Dal president Deep Bayan and APCC general secretary Udit Bhanu Das, along with several others.Speaking during the protest, Gogoi demanded Kumar's resignation and called for legal action against the Chief Election Commissioner over what he alleged were irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission. "Today, as people have come to know that Gyanesh Kumar Ji has committed a crime and committed an act of treason, he should resign today and legal action should be taken against him," Gogoi said.He also demanded that Kumar and those he alleged were behind him be arrested, and named Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in this context.Gogoi said the controversy concerned the fundamental right of citizens to vote and alleged that the Election Commission had failed to protect electoral rolls."Today, India is a democracy because there are fair elections, and the people's right to vote is secure. Today, they have attacked democracy. In the coming days, the people of India will not let them go," he said.He further said the Election Commission's responsibility was to keep voter lists "safe and secure" and alleged that it was instead attacking democracy.The protest came amid an escalating political row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The controversy intensified following an investigative report by The Indian Express, which reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally recorded objections at least 14 times over 10 months concerning procedures, database changes and the ongoing SIR of voter lists.The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that the reported objections represented institutional dissent. It has maintained that internal observations are part of the normal functioning of a multi-member constitutional body and that final decisions relating to SIR were unanimous.Congress has launched protests across several states against the Election Commission, with party leaders demanding Kumar's resignation and legal action over alleged irregularities in electoral-roll management.- Ends