CPI(M) Leaders Condemn Delhi Police and Centre Over Treatment of Pinarayi Vijayan

On Sunday, former Kerala finance minister and senior CPI(M) leader K.N. Balagopal returned to his home state and immediately launched a blistering critique of the Delhi police and the centre. He said the way former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other left leaders were detained during a protest in New Delhi was nothing short of an affront to democratic norms.

Balagopal recounted that Vijayan was forced to sit in a police jeep for hours, driven aimlessly across different parts of the city. “They kept us in a police vehicle for four hours without any clear direction,” he told reporters. “When we were finally released, we all headed back to Kerala, but the image of that treatment stayed with us.”

According to Balagopal, the incident has sparked outrage not just in Kerala but across the country. He noted that people were watching the developments live, feeling “deeply disturbed” by what they perceived as an “unjust and heavy‑handed” approach by the BJP‑run government.

Vijayan himself, speaking later that day, branded the entire episode “undemocratic”. He argued that the government had ignored Supreme Court pronouncements that safeguard the right to protest and freedom of movement. “The Supreme Court has clearly said people can protest without undue interference,” Vijayan said. “Yet the Modi government seems indifferent to those directives.”

The former chief minister described a “police raj” in which protesters were taken away in vehicles that had been turned into makeshift lock‑ups. He said he and two other leaders were crammed into a separate jeep, denied proper meals and handed leftover food meant for police staff.

Beyond the leaders, Vijayan alleged that members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) were beaten brutally. He also claimed an attempt was made to physically overpower CPI(M) MP John Brittas during the crackdown.

Perhaps the most pointed demand came when Vijayan called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of “striking at the very foundation of democracy”. He urged the authorities to take action against anyone found guilty of contempt of court or of physically attacking peaceful demonstrators.

Vijayan concluded with a warning: protests could spread nationwide if these grievances are not addressed. “Democracy is fragile,” he said. “Those who cherish it must stand together and support the movement.”