CPI(M) condemns closure of Jantar Mantar as protests continue

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau criticised the decision, which the party said had been taken at the initiative of the Union Home Ministry. It argued that the authorities were formalising restrictions that Delhi Police had already imposed by routinely refusing permission for demonstrations at Jantar Mantar.

The CPI(M) rejected the alternative protest venues proposed by the authorities—Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground—arguing that moving demonstrations away from Jantar Mantar would reduce their visibility and distance protesters from the country’s political institutions. The party declared that Jantar Mantar would remain a public place of protest and said it would resist attempts to prevent demonstrations there.

The statement came amid a wider confrontation over the Election Commission’s revision of electoral rolls. The CPI(M) has demanded Kumar’s removal, an immediate halt to the SIR exercise and restoration of the names of eligible voters allegedly deleted from the lists. The party has also called for countrywide mobilisation against police action targeting protesters.

Further Detentions in Delhi

Protests continued on Tuesday despite the restrictions. Activists of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) entered the barricaded Jantar Mantar site, raised the national flag and demanded Kumar’s resignation. Delhi Police detained CJP leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde, along with other activists.

Student organisations also held demonstrations in central Delhi. Members of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) protested on Sansad Marg, while the Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) staged a demonstration near Connaught Place. Police detained several participants. In Patna, activists of AISA and other student and youth organisations marched towards Lok Bhavan but were stopped by police.

The day’s events followed the opposition INDIA bloc’s march to the Supreme Court on 12 October. CPI(M) General Secretary M. A. Baby and CPI General Secretary D. Raja joined opposition leaders seeking judicial intervention over alleged irregularities in the voter-list revision. The opposition’s petition called for safeguards against arbitrary deletions and a suspension of the revision process.

CPI Condemns Police Action

The CPI had condemned the detention and alleged mistreatment of National Secretary Annie Raja and activists from its affiliated student and youth organisations during the demonstrations on 11 October. General Secretary D. Raja demanded the release of detainees and withdrawal of cases filed against protesters, while party leaders said the right to peaceful protest could not be suppressed through arrests and force.

Baby visits students on hunger strike

CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby and Rajya Sabha MP V Sivadasan visited Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi to express their solidarity with the three JNU Students’ Union office-bearers and nine other students on the tenth day of their hunger strike on campus. University's Student Union President Aditi Mishra, Vice President Gopika Babu, General Secretary Sunil Yadav and nine others are on hunger strike over various demands, including the revocation of the rustication of union office-bearers, resumption of the internal entrance examination system, restoration of the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment, and renovation of the crumbling infrastructure on campus. The Students' Union describes its struggle as part of the fight against the attack on public universities by the BJP-RSS. University officials have not yet responded to their demands.