Agartala, September 25: The Tripura Pradesh Congress on Friday staged a protest near the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Agartala, accusing the Election Commission of undermining democratic processes and warning of a wider agitation in the days ahead.
The demonstration was held at Office Lane, where Congress leaders, workers and supporters raised slogans against the poll panel and burnt an effigy of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The protest was led by TPCC president Ashish Kumar Saha, along with senior party leaders, corporators and activists. Addressing the gathering, Saha demanded the resignation and arrest of Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that recent decisions and actions of the Election Commission had raised serious questions over the functioning of democratic institutions.
Saha also targeted the BJP-led state government, alleging that the concerns of teachers, unemployed youths, government employees, labourers and farmers were being overlooked. He said the Congress would continue organising programmes to highlight issues affecting ordinary people.
Referring to alleged electoral irregularities in West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra and Haryana, the Congress leader questioned the legal safeguards available to Election Commission officials. He argued that such protections should not prevent accountability if democratic norms were allegedly violated.
Saha also raised the issue of protests by TET and STGT-qualified candidates and other unemployed youths in Tripura. He alleged that police had used water cannons and force against the protesters instead of addressing their employment-related demands.
The Congress leadership said the party’s Working Committee would meet shortly to determine the next course of action. Party leaders indicated that a larger statewide agitation could be launched over what they described as electoral irregularities and concerns relating to democratic institutions.
