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Sikkim Congress and locals protest appointment of Governor Dushyant Gautam in Gangtok

Gangtok, Sikkim, India · since Oct 16, 2026

Is it still on?

YESDay 3 and counting, since Oct 16.

Last report · checked

Summary in three lines

Why they are protesting
Protesters oppose the appointment of Dushyant Gautam as Sikkim Governor amid an ongoing CBI probe into a 2022 murder case.
What they want
Demonstrators demand that the Centre revoke or defer Gautam's gubernatorial appointment until the CBI investigation concludes.
What changed
Oct 18: Governor-designate Dushyant Gautam arrived in Gangtok ahead of his scheduled swearing-in ceremony on October 19.
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Both sides

What protesters want

  • Revoke or defer the appointment of Dushyant Gautam as Sikkim Governor
  • Wait for the conclusion of the CBI investigation into the Ankita Bhandari murder case

Organised by: Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee, Sikkim Democratic Front, Students and local residents

What authorities say

No official response from the government addressing the protesters' demands was reported in the sources, though Gautam has denied the allegations.134

The full story

Opposition parties, student groups, and local residents have held protests in Gangtok, Sikkim, opposing the appointment of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as the state's new Governor. The demonstrations follow allegations linking Gautam to the unresolved 'VIP' angle in the 2022 murder of a young receptionist in Uttarakhand. The Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee staged a dharna demanding the Union government withdraw or defer the appointment until the Central Bureau of Investigation completes its probe. Separately, students and local residents organised a citizen-led protest at the District Administrative Centre echoing the same demands. Despite the mounting political opposition and demonstrations, the Governor-designate arrived in Gangtok ahead of his scheduled swearing-in ceremony at Lok Bhavan.

Timeline

  1. Governor-designate Dushyant Kumar Gautam arrived in Gangtok ahead of his scheduled oath ceremony.4

  2. Students and local residents held a protest at the District Administrative Centre in Gangtok opposing the gubernatorial appointment.34

  3. The Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee staged a protest in Gangtok demanding the withdrawal of Dushyant Gautam's appointment.124

Pins sit on city centres, never on gathering points

Related protests

Wrapped up

TVK and INDIA Bloc parties protest against CEC in Chennai

Chennai, India · Oct 15

Opposition parties are protesting against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists and the conduct of the Election Commission.

  • elections
  • governance
  • anti-government

6 sources · 95% sure ·