Agartala, September 25: The Tripura Pradesh Congress on Friday intensified its campaign against the Election Commission, staging a demonstration outside the Chief Electoral Officer’s office here and signalling plans for a broader agitation over what it termed concerns surrounding the electoral process.
A large number of Congress workers and supporters assembled at Office Lane, where they raised slogans against the poll panel and later burnt an effigy of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
State Congress president Ashish Kumar Saha led the protest in the presence of senior party leaders, corporators and activists. Addressing the gathering, Saha sought the resignation and arrest of Kumar, alleging that recent actions of the Election Commission had raised concerns over the credibility of democratic institutions.
Turning his criticism towards the BJP-led state government, Saha alleged that several sections of society, including teachers, unemployed youths, government employees, labourers and farmers, were facing unresolved problems. He said the Congress would continue to organise programmes to highlight their grievances.
Saha also referred to alleged irregularities in elections held in West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra and Haryana. Questioning the legal safeguards available to Election Commission officials, he argued that such provisions should not rule out accountability when democratic norms are allegedly compromised.
The TPCC president also spoke about the protests by TET and STGT-qualified candidates and other unemployed youths in Tripura. He alleged that police had used water cannons and force against demonstrators demanding employment opportunities.
The Congress said its Working Committee would meet shortly to chalk out the party’s next course of action. According to party leaders, the meeting could pave the way for a larger statewide agitation centred on alleged electoral irregularities and concerns over democratic institutions.
