The streets near Nirvachan Bhawan in Itanagar were buzzing with a different kind of energy on Thursday. Congress workers had gathered, slogans in hand, anger very much on display — and a clear message for New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar must go.
The Arunachal Pradesh Congress unit hit the ground as part of the party’s coordinated nationwide agitation against the Election Commission of India, turning the state capital into one more flashpoint in what is shaping up to be a serious political battle over the country’s electoral process. The protest, held right outside Nirvachan Bhawan — the very building that houses election administration in the state — was anything but symbolic. It was pointed, deliberate, and loud.
At the heart of the fury is the ongoing Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls. The Congress party has been deeply uncomfortable with the exercise for a while now, and Thursday’s demonstration was their way of making that discomfort impossible to ignore. Workers raised slogans against the Election Commission, calling out what they see as a flawed and suspect process that goes right to the top — to the Chief Election Commissioner himself.
The demands put forward by the Arunachal Pradesh Congress were sweeping, and they pulled no punches. The party called for an immediate halt to the SIR exercise. That alone would have made headlines. But the unit went much further — seeking an independent inquiry into how decisions around electoral roll preparation and revision have been made, and insisting that upcoming elections be kept on hold until that inquiry runs its course. In a particularly sharp escalation, the party also demanded criminal proceedings be initiated against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, and that all files connected to the SIR exercise be handed over to the custody of the Supreme Court.
That last demand is worth pausing on. Calling for documents to be placed under Supreme Court oversight isn’t the language of routine politics. It signals a fundamental breakdown of trust — Congress is essentially saying it does not believe the Election Commission can be trusted to handle its own paperwork without interference.
The demonstration remained peaceful throughout. Officials on the ground reported no untoward incidents, and the protest wrapped up without any confrontations. But the calm on the street shouldn’t be mistaken for the calm of the conversation. This is a party raising the temperature nationally, and Arunachal Pradesh has joined that chorus with full-throated conviction.
What makes this moment particularly significant is the geography. Arunachal Pradesh isn’t traditionally the loudest voice in national political debates. The state tends to operate at its own pace, on its own terms. For Congress workers here to step out in significant numbers, in coordination with a nationwide agitation, sends a signal about how seriously the opposition is taking the electoral rolls issue — and how broadly that concern has travelled.
The SIR exercise, meant to update and clean up voter lists, has apparently become something that Congress sees not as housekeeping but as a threat. Whether that fear is founded or exaggerated is something only an independent inquiry can determine — which is, of course, exactly what the party is asking for.
The slogans have faded for now. But the demand hasn’t. And until either an inquiry is announced or elections are declared, Congress seems prepared to keep the pressure right where it is.
