Rajasthan: Gehlot, Dotasra among those detained during Congress anti-SIR protest

• Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra were among party leaders detained during a protest march to the State Election Commission office in Jaipur.

• Police used water cannons after protesters attempted to cross barricades during the march.

• Congress leaders accused the Election Commission of irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls and demanded action against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra were among senior party leaders detained by police on Monday during a protest march to the State Election Commission office in Jaipur over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Congress workers carrying party flags and posters demanding the resignation and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar gathered at Shaheed Smarak, where party leaders addressed the protesters before the march.

Heavy police deployment was made at the site and traffic on MI Road was diverted. As the protesters attempted to push through multiple layers of barricades, police used water cannons to disperse them.

Gehlot, Dotasra and Congress' Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa were detained, according to party sources. Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly Tikaram Jully and former minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas also participated in the protest.

At the police station, the detained Congress leaders raised slogans against Kumar and Rajasthan chief minister Bhajanlal Sharma. More than 100 Congress leaders and workers were reportedly detained during the protest and were later released.

Addressing protesters before the march, Dotasra accused the chief election commissioner of irregularities in the SIR process and alleged that Kumar had “looted democracy”. He said the protest was the beginning of a wider campaign that Congress workers would take across Rajasthan.

Gehlot alleged that democratic institutions were being weakened and called on Congress workers to remain alert and engage with people over the issue.

Referring to the recently held urban local body elections in Rajasthan, Gehlot also alleged that the Congress lost because of “arbitrary and wrong” delimitation of wards. He further accused the government of misusing the police and administration. These claims were made by Gehlot and were not independently established in the material provided.

Randhawa accused the BJP of trying to end democracy and said Congress would take its campaign to people across the state.

The protest comes amid a wider confrontation between the Congress and the Election Commission over SIR and the functioning of the poll panel.

An Indian Express report published on 25 September said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had separately written to Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan after a work-allocation order was issued within the Election Commission.

The report said the commissioners had raised concerns that the order could concentrate powers relating to adding or deleting names and updating voter records at the central level rather than with officials at the state level.