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The people’s newsroom

PoliticsCongress

Gaurav Gogoi says Election Commission 'totally manipulated', demands CEC's removal

Speaking in Guwahati, the Assam Congress chief accused Gyanesh Kumar of loyalty to Modi and Shah and attacked the Himanta Biswa Sarma government over the Zubeen Garg probe.

From the editorial desk · GuwahatiPublished
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi (file photo)
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi (file photo)Photo: Gaurav Gogoi / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Key points

  1. Gogoi said the Election Commission had been emptied of its constitutional authority.
  2. He said opposition 'Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao' rallies were continuing across the country.
  3. He accused the Assam SIT on Zubeen Garg's death of not placing all the evidence before the court.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Friday accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of serving Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah rather than the Constitution, and said the Election Commission had been emptied of its constitutional authority.

“Every day we are receiving reports and news that the Election Commission of India has been totally manipulated,” Gogoi, who heads the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, said in Guwahati. “It feels as if the officer, the Chief Election Commissioner of India, Gyanesh Kumar, has not sworn an oath.” He ended: “That person, Gyanesh Kumar, has to go.”

Gogoi said the party’s work, paused for Navratri, Dussehra and Durga Puja, had resumed, and that the opposition’s “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” rallies were going on across the country. The INDIA bloc is also reported to be planning a mock Parliament on 28 October, with details still being worked out.

He said the Prime Minister’s repeated references to Rahul Gandhi showed a preoccupation with him, and that Modi should instead speak about Manipur and drought-hit regions. He also questioned whether the government would last until 2029, citing what he called a “bankruptcy of vision”.

On Zubeen Garg

Turning to Assam, Gogoi said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s government had failed to deliver justice in the case of singer Zubeen Garg’s death. He said the special investigation team had not put all the facts and evidence before the court and that those arrested were getting bail one after another. “There is apprehension among people that the SIT formed by Himanta Biswa Sarma was not constituted to deliver justice,” he said, adding that the failure would be the biggest stain on Sarma’s political career.

There was no immediate response from the Election Commission or the Assam government.