CPM takes centre stage at CJP’s anti-CEC protests; police action shifts focus

The protest demanding Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Saturday (October 10) witnessed a sweeping police crackdown, with senior CPM leaders from Keralam, student activists, and journalists among those detained.

The action turned a demonstration called by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) into a confrontation over the right to protest, democratic dissent and press freedom.

With the INDIA bloc-led protest campaign on pause as Rahul Gandhi travelled to Chennai for the Chhatron Ki Goonj programme, the CPM’s top leadership, predominantly from Keralam, took centre stage in the mobilisation.

Also read: LIVE updates from Jantar Mantar protests

Former Keralam chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, party general secretary MA Baby, and its state secretary MV Govindan were among those detained, along with Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, former minister KN Balagopal and other leaders. Student activists and journalists covering the protest were also taken into custody.

‘An assault on democracy’

The CPM Central Committee meeting was under way in Delhi when the party leadership decided to adjourn its proceedings and join the demonstration. The decision brought the party’s most senior leaders directly into the mobilisation, giving the protest a strong Left imprint despite the CJP having issued the call. Senior leaders such as Pinarayi Vijayan raising slogans on the streets have been a rare sight in recent years.

The CPM’s participation placed its leadership at the forefront of a national mobilisation around electoral integrity, an issue on which opposition parties have sought to build a broader campaign. However, the detention of senior leaders, followed by action against student activists and media personnel, shifted the focus from the original demand to the police response to the protest.

Pinarayi condemned the police action, describing it as part of an attempt to suppress democratic dissent. “This is a challenge to democracy. There is an attempt to turn the country into a police state. Nothing can suppress the people’s movement. Democracy supporters are flocking to Jantar Mantar. The government has already begun to fear the protest. Such measures are part of that fear,” he said.

Brittas questions grounds for detention

John Brittas, who was detained along with Pinarayi Vijayan and KN Balagopal, questioned the police action, arguing that the three leaders had neither engaged in violence nor violated the restrictions on public gatherings.

Also read: CJP protests: Mass detentions, arrests, plea filed in SC | What happened so far in Delhi

“The police jeep carrying me, Pinarayi and Balagopal roamed the streets of Delhi before reaching Chhatrasal stadium. We were not engaged in any violent protest, nor had we violated Section 163 of the BNSS. There were only three of us, while the order prohibits gatherings of more than four people. This is a complete disregard for democracy. Such actions will not help those in power,” Brittas said.

Later, he again made a reel saying they were back in the jeep, roaming the streets. “Strange things are happening,” says Brittas. “We are still being detained and driven around the streets of Delhi with veteran leader Pinarayi Vijayan. He is not even being allowed to take his medicines (Pinarayi is undergoing cancer treatment).

“After a brief stop at Chhatrasal Stadium, we have once again been taken into custody and are being driven around. The policemen in the vehicle say these are the instructions they have received. It has been more than three hours now,” he added.

Journalists dragged into operation

The crackdown extended to journalists covering the protest. Reporter TV journalists Roshni Rajan and Farza TM were detained while filming the demonstration on their mobile phones.

Roshni said the journalists were recording visuals to send online when police personnel forcibly took them away. They repeatedly identified themselves as journalists and showed their press identity cards, but, she said, the police refused to listen.

“We were forcibly dragged into a bus despite repeatedly telling the police that we were journalists. We were filming the protest on our mobile phones to send the visuals online when the police manhandled us and bundled us into the vehicle.

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“We kept identifying ourselves as journalists, but the police refused to listen. They repeatedly asked, ‘What media? What media?’ Even after we showed our Press ID cards, they continued to question why we were filming at the protest site. Roshan was also dragged along the road. The police treated us roughly, dragging and pushing us around. The entire experience was extremely distressing,” she said.

Roshni also recounted that the journalists were taken away without being told where they were going. Even the women police personnel in the vehicle, she said, did not appear to know their destination.

The internet shutdown compounded the difficulties of reporting from the ground. Malayalam television journalists covering the protest said Kerala MPs had arranged a Wi-Fi connection at Kerala House, allowing them to continue their live coverage despite the disruption.

The incident raised concerns about the ability of journalists to report independently during protests, particularly when restrictions on communication were already hampering coverage.

SFI leaders among detained

The police action also targeted the student movement, with SFI president Adarsh M Saji, Aishe Ghosh, and Meenakshi Mukherjee among those detained. Rajya Sabha MP AA Rahim was also taken into custody.

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For the Left, the issue provided an opportunity to move beyond public statements and parliamentary interventions. The participation of Pinarayi, Brinda Karat, Baby, Govindan, KK Shailaja, and Brittas placed senior political figures alongside student activists in a street mobilisation in the national capital.

According to sources, other Left student organisations, including AISA and AISF, are expected to join the protest later in the day. The CPM also organised rallies across Keralam and has called for block-level protest marches this evening.