AGARTALA, Oct. 8 (TIWN): Tripura Congress on Thursday observed a ‘Black Day’ as part of the Congress party’s nationwide protest against the detention of opposition MPs during demonstrations in New Delhi and over allegations of irregularities in the electoral process.

The protest also focused on the party’s demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whom Congress has accused of failing to ensure transparency in the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Congress leaders and workers gathered in Agartala and staged demonstrations, with police putting up barricades to restrict the protesters from blocking key roads. Members of the Youth Congress, Mahila Congress, Lawyers’ Cell and other party wings participated in the agitation.

Speaking to the media, Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman described the day as a “dark day for democracy” and alleged that the government was attempting to suppress the voice of the opposition.

He said Congress, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, would continue its political fight and demanded that Gyanesh Kumar step down as Chief Election Commissioner.

Why is Gyanesh Kumar facing opposition?

The controversy surrounding Gyanesh Kumar has intensified following allegations over the Election Commission’s handling of voter-list revisions, particularly the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

A recent investigation by The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised written objections at least 14 times over a 10-month period regarding certain decisions and processes within the poll panel. The objections reportedly included concerns over changes to electoral procedures, voter-registration systems and the handling of electoral-roll-related matters.

The Election Commission has rejected suggestions of wrongdoing and said differences of view are part of its internal decision-making process, maintaining that decisions taken by the Commission were unanimous.

Opposition parties, however, have linked the reported internal differences and the ongoing voter-roll revision to their broader allegations of “vote theft” and have demanded Kumar’s resignation.

The issue has now triggered protests across several states. In Delhi, Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders were detained during demonstrations demanding Kumar’s resignation and raising concerns over voter-list revisions.

In Tripura, Thursday’s protest was part of the wider nationwide Congress campaign, with the party seeking to turn the issue of electoral transparency and the functioning of the Election Commission into a major political issue ahead of upcoming elections.