Kolkata Protests Demand Resignation and Arrest of India Chief Election Commissioner Over Voter List Omissions
Protests erupted across Kolkata on Friday as various political and civic groups demanded the immediate resignation and arrest of India's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the election watchdog of disenfranchising millions of voters through a contentious voter list revision process. The demonstrations, organized separately by the West Bengal Pradesh Congress and the All India Democratic Women's Association, underscored mounting political tension in neighboring India over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Addressing a protest rally at College Street in Kolkata, former state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury strongly criticized the poll panel's actions, demanding that criminal proceedings be initiated against the top election official. Congress leaders insisted that Gyanesh Kumar be stripped of his position and brought to justice, while simultaneously calling for the immediate reinstatement of all voters whose names were allegedly omitted from the rolls during the verification exercise.
In a parallel demonstration in the Dharmatala area, the leftist women's organization staged a defiant march demanding the total scrapping of the current revision drive. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Minakshi Mukherjee called for upcoming elections to be conducted using the previous voter lists and urged authorities to immediately restore the voting rights of all genuine citizens excluded from the updated rolls.
Adding to the escalating pressure, the Cockroach Janata Party issued a separate ultimatum demanding accountability from India's election chief. The party warned that if Gyanesh Kumar fails to step down by Saturday, continuous protests will be launched originating from Mumbai. Similar demonstrations calling for the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner have reportedly been staged in several other states across India.
Protesters also trained their sights on administrative accountability within West Bengal, demanding the removal and arrest of Manoj Pant, the state's chief secretary who previously served as the state's chief electoral officer during the contentious revision process. As political friction intensifies, opposition figures across multiple Indian jurisdictions are vowing to sustain their agitation until the electoral discrepancies are fully redressed.
