Meghalaya Congress Protests Demand Election Commissioner Arrest

Shillong: Meghalaya Congress workers scorched an effigy of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Friday, September 25. The demonstration in Shillong called for his immediate removal and arrest. The party remains locked in a fierce dispute over the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Vincent H Pala, president of the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee, led the protest march from Congress Bhavan to the Additional Secretariat. Pala accused Kumar of rigging the system. He claimed the commissioner ignored 14 separate objections from his colleagues over the past 10 months. "In the last 10 months, 14 objections have been raised by the two other election commissioners, but he bulldozed all these with the help of the BJP," Pala stated.

Pala targeted the Centre for changing appointment laws to influence elections. He cited alleged voter deletions in Haryana, Maharashtra, and West Bengal as evidence of systematic corruption. The protest follows reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi frequently disagreed with the current leadership. The Election Commission insists all decisions, including the revision exercise, remain unanimous.

Pala demanded a full commission of inquiry into Kumar's conduct. He argued that the official must step down to restore faith in the democratic process. The party maintains that the current administration is undermining the integrity of the vote.