The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement: 

Condemn Brutal Repression in Delhi & Other Places

Organise Countrywide Protests

In the repression unleashed on protesters in Delhi on October 10, the Delhi Police arrested hundreds of leaders of political parties, civil society organisations, students and youth. Almost the entire leadership of the CPI(M), including its General Secretary MA Baby and other senior Polit Bureau and Central Committee members, have been taken into police custody. Many of those arrested were roughed up and manhandled by the police, leading to injuries to some, like MP, Sivadasan.

Polit Bureau Member and Kerala Leader of the Opposition, Com. Pinarayi Vijayan, CCMs K N Balagopal and John Brittas were confined to the police vehicle for hours together denied food, water and not even allowed to take essential medications. A contingent of detained women, including Polit Bureau Member Mariam Dhawale, who were taken to the Maurya Enclave Police Station, were not even allowed to use the washroom. Mobile phones of a batch of comrades, including MP A.A. Rahim, were taken by the Police.

The entire might of the state was brought upon the protesters with massive security deployment, barricading of roads along with severe restrictions on movement and communication. All these constitute a blatant assault on democratic rights to protest peacefully and constitutional freedoms and is a blatant display of authoritarianism.

The government’s response exposes its fear of popular mobilisation and its determination to suppress dissent rather than answer serious questions about the SIR process. The right to vote is fundamental to democracy and cannot be undermined through opaque procedures or arbitrary exclusions.

The Polit Bureau calls upon the entire Party to organise protests by all Party units throughout the country against this repression and demanding that the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar be held accountable and removed, that the SIR process be stopped, and to ensure that the names of all eligible voters who have been deleted be restored in the list.