High-voltage drama unfolded outside the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office in Bhubaneswar on Friday as hundreds of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) workers clashed with police personnel while attempting to gherao the premises.
Led by OPCC President Bhakta Charan Das, the demonstrators were protesting against alleged irregularities in the electoral rolls and demanding complete transparency in the voter list revision process.
Carrying placards, banners, and party flags, Congress leaders and workers marched in large numbers toward the CEO office. The agitators raised slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of oversight in handling the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists and alleging large-scale “vote theft.” Party leaders demanded the immediate resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner to safeguard democratic integrity.
To contain the demonstration, law enforcement authorities deployed nearly ten platoons of police personnel and erected multiple layers of heavy barricades along the routes leading to the CEO office. However, the situation turned volatile when aggressive protesters attempted to dismantle the barricades and force their way into the premises.
A fierce scuffle ensued between the police and Congress activists. To prevent further escalation and maintain public order, security forces detained over a hundred protesters, bundling them into police vans. The forceful detention sparked intense pushing and shoving, escalating tensions across the capital’s administrative corridor for several hours.
Addressing the media during the rally, OPCC President Bhakta Charan Das strongly criticised the election commission’s functioning. He alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise had compromised the purity of the electoral rolls and infringed upon the democratic rights of citizens. Das asserted that the Congress party would not tolerate any attempt at “vote theft” and promised to continue the struggle for electoral transparency.
The demonstration in Bhubaneswar forms part of a synchronised nationwide protest staged by the Indian National Congress against electoral roll anomalies. Similar demonstrations were reported across major cities nationwide, with Congress leadership demanding an independent review of the Election Commission’s current operational procedures and voter revision mechanisms.
