Bhubaneswar, 06 October (H.S.): The Odisha Pradesh Youth Congress on Tuesday staged a protest outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha, demanding the resignation and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The protest was led by Pradesh Youth Congress president Ranjit Patra. A large number of Youth Congress workers took out a protest rally from in front of the Bhubaneswar AICC office and proceeded towards the CEO’s office.

Tension prevailed at the protest site as the demonstrators and police were involved in a scuffle for nearly an hour. Police subsequently detained and removed several Youth Congress functionaries from the spot.

Addressing the protesters, Patra levelled serious allegations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of illegally excluding around 13 crore voters across the country and 27 lakh voters in Odisha from electoral rolls and depriving them of their democratic rights.

He also alleged that Form-6 had been illegally modified and claimed that the changes were part of a conspiracy to facilitate the exclusion of voters from electoral rolls. Patra further questioned the necessity of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and alleged that the Election Commission had issued notices to prominent individuals in a manner that raised concerns over the exercise.

Patra accused the Election Commission of acting in favour of the BJP and alleged that the electoral system of the country had been undermined. He said the Youth Congress would continue to demand the resignation and arrest of Gyanesh Kumar over what he described as “unforgivable” actions.

State Youth Congress general secretaries Sudip Samal, Abhijit Jena, Gopan Martha, Suraj Behera and Kedar Dalai, Khordha district Youth Congress president Swagat Kar, Kendrapara district president Laxmipriya Nayak, Bhadrak district president Balaram Rout and Mayurbhanj district president Saroj Nayak were among those who participated in the protest.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda