Delhi Police detain Left leaders protesting outside Election Commission
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New Delhi: Several Left party leaders and activists were detained by Delhi Police on Monday while protesting outside the Election Commission of India (ECI) office and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
Those detained included Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary M.A. Baby, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation leaders Sucheta De and Shweta Raj, along with activists from the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice and other Left organisations.
The protesters were demanding Kumar’s resignation over the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. At the time of publication, those detained were being taken away in police vehicles to undisclosed locations.
Kumar has faced questions over the manner in which the ECI has conducted the SIR. Recent reports by The Indian Express have said that the two other Election Commissioners recorded at least 14 formal objection notes over the past 10 months concerning various aspects of the exercise.
The protest came four days after Delhi Police detained students and other citizens demonstrating at Jantar Mantar for Kumar’s removal. The protesters were also reportedly dragged by police during the September 25 demonstration.