Congress Protests Dushyant Gautam's Appointment as Sikkim Governor
Congress leaders are protesting the appointment of Dushyant Gautam as Governor of Sikkim over his alleged links to a 2022 murder investigation.
President Droupadi Murmu appointed Dushyant Gautam as the Governor of Sikkim on October 12, 2026. Gautam is scheduled to take the oath of office on October 19 at Lok Bhawan in Gangtok, succeeding Om Prakash Mathur, who was transferred to Kerala.
The appointment triggered immediate backlash from the Congress party. Leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and MP Kumari Selja, criticized the decision due to Gautam's alleged connection to the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder case, which is currently under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Rahul Gandhi urged the president to reconsider the appointment until the investigation concludes.
Protests erupted in Dehradun, leading authorities to register an FIR against former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat and 30 other Congress leaders. Additional cases were filed against PCC president Ganesh Godiyal, Harak Singh Rawat, and Pritam Singh in response to the demonstrations.
