**Agartala, September 25:** Tripura Pradesh Congress on Friday organised a demonstration outside the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Agartala, alleging that the Election Commission was compromising democratic institutions and announcing plans for intensified protests.
Congress workers and supporters gathered at Office Lane and raised slogans against the poll panel before burning an effigy of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
TPCC president Ashish Kumar Saha led the protest, joined by senior party leaders, corporators and party activists. Addressing the gathering, Saha called for Kumar’s resignation and arrest, alleging that recent actions of the Election Commission had undermined public confidence in the electoral process.
The Congress leader also criticised the BJP-led Tripura government over what he described as the neglect of issues affecting teachers, unemployed youths, government employees, labourers and farmers. He said the party would continue holding programmes to draw attention to the problems faced by common people.
Saha referred to alleged irregularities in elections in West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra and Haryana and questioned the legal protections extended to Election Commission officials. He maintained that such safeguards should not prevent accountability in cases where democratic norms are allegedly breached.
He further highlighted the continuing protests by TET and STGT-qualified candidates and other unemployed youths in Tripura. Saha alleged that police had resorted to water cannons and force against protesters instead of responding to their demands for employment.
The Congress said its Working Committee would meet soon to decide the next phase of its agitation. Party leaders indicated that a statewide movement could follow, focusing on alleged electoral irregularities and issues concerning democratic institutions.
