SIR row: Cong workers protest against CEC; cops use water cannons in Patna, Chandigarh

NEW DELHI: Congress protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar were across states on Friday, with police using water cannons to disperse protesters in Chandigarh and Patna.Security personnel were deployed outside the Election Commission office in New Delhi ahead of a Delhi Congress demonstration over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The Indian Youth Congress was also scheduled to march from Raisina Road to Jantar Mantar.The protests follow an Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders related to the SIR process. The report said their concerns included voter registration, deletion and restoration of names and access to electoral-roll databases.Protests spread across statesThe Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress held a protest outside the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Bhopal on Thursday, demanding Kumar’s resignation.