New Delhi: The Left parties condemned the police detention of youths and students who were at the protest against chief election commisioner Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar Friday.The CPM politburo issued a statement condemning the detention of hundreds of protesters who had gathered at the protest venue, demanding the immediate resignation of Kumar and a halt to the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.CPI(ML) Liberation members and student outfit AISA were at the forefront of the protest. AISA national president Neha Bora and several Left student activists were “brutally detained” by Delhi Police, the CPM politburo said.“Modi-Shah, your colonial-style repression will not break the spirit of the people fighting to save democracy. The British failed, and so will you! Vote Chor CEC Gyanesh Kumar has to go! Halt SIR!,” CPM said.Launching a scathing attack, the party said Delhi Police “converted the entire city into a fortress and detained anyone approaching Jantar Mantar. They sought to curtail the democratic right to protest guaranteed by the Constitution by denying permission for any sort of gathering at Jantar Mantar.”“Hundreds of youth and students led by the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), Students’ Federation of India (SFI), and various other student and youth organisations gathered at the site, braving police high-handedness and the barricades. The police brutally manhandled the protesters and threw them into the buses, injuring many. The fact that it took more than two hours for the police to detain all the DYFI and SFI activists itself demonstrates the stiff resistance put up by the youth,” the party added.CPM general secretary MA Baby and senior functionary Brinda Karat were among those who were detained.CPI national secretary P Sandosh Kumar, CPI Delhi secretary Dinesh Varshney, AISF general secretary Dinesh Seerangaraj, along with hundreds of CPI, AISF and AIYF cadres, were also detained.“On the day we commemorate Mahatma Gandhi and his struggle for democracy and public probity, Modi govt is using police force to suppress those protesting to defend the vote and save democracy. The “Vote Chor” must resign! Our struggle will not be silenced by detention,” CPI said in one of the many posts it put out on the protest.“Bones can be broken with batons and clubs, but not resolve,” CPI added.
