Leftist Parties Stage Protest Outside Indian Election Commission; Several Leaders Detained

M.A. Baby, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), was arrested by police during a protest organized by leftist parties outside the headquarters of the Indian Election Commission in New Delhi. Alongside him, Central Committee members Sucheta De and Shweta Raj of the CPI (ML) were also taken into custody.

The leftist parties collectively demonstrated demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. In a statement released by the CPI (M), the protestors accused the police of using force against them instead of listening to their grievances. The statement said, “We have been taken into custody and do not know where we are being taken or when we will be released.”

The protest included various leaders from CPI (ML), CPI (M), prominent figureheads Sucheta De and Shweta Raj of CPI (ML), activists from the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICTU) and All India Labour Journalists’ Association (AILAJ), as well as other senior leaders and trade union representatives.