GUWAHATI, Jan. 6: The Guwahati Metropolitan district committee of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Tuesday staged a sit-in demonstration against the BJP government and the Election Commission of India over alleged irregularities found in the draft electoral rolls at several locations in the Guwahati metropolitan area.
The protest was triggered by reports that names of persons from outside the state were included under the ‘EPIC’ numbers of local families without their knowledge.
Allegations include the inclusion of outsiders in the voter lists of residents of Taiyabulla Road near Dighalipukhuri, and the enrolment of more than 30 non-existent voters at house number 595 in ward number 22.
During the protest, several party leaders and hundreds of workers raised slogans such as “Down with the Election Commission” and “Vote thieves must step down from power,” as they continued the protest for an extended period.
Although police barricaded and cordoned off the Manabendra Sharma Complex at Last Gate, Dispur, the protesters eventually broke through the barricades and came out onto the road.
Following the sit-in, a protest meeting was held under the chairmanship of Metropolitan District Congress president Swapan Das, who urged everyone to remain vigilant against “vote theft.”
Addressing the gathering, Bora strongly criticised the incumbent government in the state, alleging that the BJP, fearing the Congress forming the next government, had resorted to vote theft to retain power.
He asserted that under the leadership of Assam PCC chief Gaurav Gogoi, a Congress government is set to return to Assam, and “it is this fear that has prompted the BJP to undermine democratic values.”
Media department chairman Bedabrat Bora called upon all party workers to thoroughly examine the final electoral roll scheduled to be published on February 10.
He urged them to lodge complaints with election officials if any excess inclusion of out-of-state voters is found, and to inform social media and news outlets with proper evidence.
Stating that the Guwahati protest should be replicated across Assam, Bora warned that any undemocratic attempt to snatch away the voting rights of the people of the state and form a government using non-Assamese voters would never be tolerated.
