Former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas and former Kerala minister K N Balagopal were detained by Delhi Police during protests near Jantar Mantar on Saturday, the CPI(M) said. The leaders were taken around the city before being brought to Chhatrasal Stadium, one of the venues where protesters were being taken, according to the party and a report by The Indian Express.
The detentions took place as Delhi Police enforced restrictions in and around Jantar Mantar during protests called by the Cockroach Janata Party. The Left had extended support to the demonstration, which was directed against the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, according to the report.
CPI(M) Keralam said several other party leaders had also been detained. Those named in the party’s post on X included M A Baby, Brinda Karat, E P Jayarajan, M V Govindan, K K Shailaja and P K Sreemathi. The party said its leaders were detained while participating in the protest and questioned the grounds on which they were taken to the stadium.
A video shared by CPI(M) Keralam showed John Brittas saying, “Let me take the video. It’s my right.” The party alleged that the leaders were taken around Delhi before being brought to Chhatrasal Stadium and asked the Union government to explain the action. Delhi Police’s response or a formal account of the grounds for detention was not included in the supplied report.
The party also said CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke was detained at Delhi airport before he could reach the protest, while Dhruv Rathee was detained in Gurugram and CJP leader Saurav Das was detained at Delhi airport. These claims were published by CPI(M) Keralam in its social media post and were not independently confirmed in the material available for this report.
The developments have placed Jantar Mantar’s role as a regulated protest venue at the centre of the day’s events. The site is used for demonstrations in the national capital, but access and activity around it can be subject to police restrictions. In this case, the detentions and movement of protesters to Chhatrasal Stadium have raised questions about how those restrictions were applied to political leaders and participants.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief M K Stalin criticised the detentions and described the scenes in Delhi as recalling the Emergency. He called for the release of political leaders, students and young protesters detained in Delhi and elsewhere. Stalin also criticised the Tamil Nadu government over its handling of protesting students, although the supplied report did not provide details of those separate incidents.
Stalin said the Union government should end what he described as an assault on young people exercising their democratic right to protest. He also said the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was non-negotiable and called for the restoration of the Election Commission’s independence and integrity.
The immediate next steps depend on the police action involving those taken to Chhatrasal Stadium and on whether Delhi Police issues a formal explanation of the detentions and the restrictions imposed around Jantar Mantar.
