Mumbai Police allows CPI(M) to protest Israel’s genocide in Gaza

New Delhi: Mumbai Police submitted a statement before the Bombay High Court allowing the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to hold a peaceful protest against Israel’s genocide and war crimes in Gaza. The court has accepted the statement, according to Live Law.

Now, the political party can hold a protest at the Azad Maidan, a designated site for protests in Mumbai. Earlier, the police had denied permission for the protest at the very same site.

After the police denied permission, the party approached the Bombay High Court, but the decision was upheld. The court also observed that the party should look at its own country instead of focusing on issues thousands of miles away.

The Wire quoted the court’s observation, “Our country has enough issues. We don’t want anything like this. I am sorry to say, you are all short-sighted. You are looking at issues in Gaza and Palestine. Look at your own country. Be patriots. This is not patriotism. People say they are patriots.”

A report by The Wire said that a protest in December last year, participated by hundreds of people including far-right groups like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, had gathered outside the Bangladesh deputy high commission in Mumbai, demanding the release of Chinmoy Krishna Das, the ISKCON priest. Bangladesh had detained the priest. The report pointed out that these street protests were not stopped by the court or the police.

Many had condemned the Bombay HC order refusing to allow the CPI(M) to hold the protest in its July 25 order. The party had said that the Bombay HC bench ironically appears to be not aware of either the provisions of the Constitution, which enshrines the rights of a political party, or the history of our country and our people’s solidarity with the Palestinians and their legitimate right to a homeland.