Delhi Metro closures and restrictions on movement followed a police crackdown on protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, according to a CPM statement reported by the Times of India. The party said 57 Metro stations were shut, mobile internet services were suspended and trains from Kerala and other places were terminated before reaching Delhi.
The CPM state secretariat condemned the detention of senior party leaders who were travelling to a protest at Jantar Mantar. Those detained included CPM general secretary M A Baby, politburo member and former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, state secretary M V Govindan, politburo member A Vijayaraghavan and several central committee members. Leaders of the party’s women’s, student and youth wings were also detained, the statement said.
CPM leaders described the situation in the national capital as being “akin to the Emergency” and accused Delhi Police of using excessive force. The allegations were made in a statement issued by the party’s Kerala state secretariat. The report did not include a response from Delhi Police or the Union government to the allegations.
CPM MP John Brittas alleged that Vijayan, 82, was kept in a police vehicle for nearly four hours after being detained near Kerala House and was not allowed to take his medicines on time. Brittas said Vijayan, former Kerala minister K N Balagopal and he were detained at around 10.30am and taken to Mandir Marg police station only at about 2.20pm.
Brittas said Vijayan was exhausted and experiencing discomfort when they reached the police station. “We were put in a small car and made to travel through the streets of Delhi for several hours,” he said, adding that Vijayan had health conditions requiring timely medication. These claims were reported as allegations by the CPM leaders.
The party also questioned the deployment of more than 50,000 police and paramilitary personnel and the imposition of prohibitory orders. It said the measures created a lockdown-like situation in Delhi, while the suspension of mobile internet affected communication and the Metro closures restricted movement through the capital’s public transport network.
The CPM further said that CJP leader Abhijit Dipke and others were detained aboard a flight, describing the action as “barbaric”. It warned that peaceful protests could not be suppressed through what it called an “iron fist”. The party has called for demonstrations and public meetings across Kerala to protest the detentions and the restrictions imposed in Delhi.
