Lucknow: Several Congress workers and leaders were detained on Thursday, November 27, during a protest in the state capital, where they tried to march towards the State Election Commission office as part of the party’s ongoing “Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod” campaign.
Police stopped the demonstrators near the Sunni Waqf Board, leading to a brief scuffle before they were taken away in buses to Eco Garden.
Here are some visual from the scene:
Protest Sparks Tense Stand-off with Police
A heavy police force had been deployed outside the Congress office since the morning. Around 1:00 pm, Youth Congress activists carrying party flags and banners began marching towards the State Election Commission office in Hazratganj. They were halted by barricades set up by the police. Several demonstrators climbed over the barricades and raised slogans, prompting officers to forcibly remove them. The detained workers and office bearers were pushed onto a bus and escorted to Eco Garden.
Youth Congress leader Sharad Shukla, who led the demonstration, accused the Election Commission of acting as an extension of the RSS and the BJP. He alleged that concerns repeatedly raised by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi regarding vote theft in Bihar, Maharashtra and Haryana had not received any response from the poll body.
Congress Accuses Election Commission of Silence on Vote Chori
The protest formed part of a wider campaign by the Youth Congress, which has announced intensified action in Uttar Pradesh over what it calls systematic vote manipulation. Sharad Shukla said the party was preparing for a “decisive battle” on the issue, adding that the silence of authorities had forced the Congress to take to the streets.
During the demonstration, workers displayed posters portraying the Chief Election Commissioner in RSS attire, alongside images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Party leaders said the campaign would continue until their concerns about alleged vote theft were addressed.
