[Marxistindia] Strongly condemn police brutalities on peaceful protests

[news from the cpi(m)]

December 26, 2019
Press Statement
 
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the
following statement:
 
Strongly Condemn Police Brutalities on Peaceful Protests
 
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the brutal suppression of
peaceful protests, particularly in Uttar Pradesh and other BJP-ruled states
and in Delhi where the police is directly under the Centre's control.  
 
The death toll in Uttar Pradesh  has now reached 18 and the count is still
mounting.  69 activists of the Left parties, including district committee
members of Banaras CPI(M) have been arrested.  56 continue to remain under
police custody.  With the courts going on vacation, any possibilities of
legal remedies are foreclosed till January 2020.  The brutality of the
attacks have been reported in sections of the media.  The footage of police
barbarity in UP has been  released by various electronic media sites.  These
can be seen in the following links:
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/report-on-amu-violence-cops-raised-j
ai-shri-ram-slogans-admin-failed-in-its-duty/;
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/citizenship-amendment-act-video-shows-cops-v
andalising-shops-vehicles-in-ups-kanpur-amid-protests-2154193?fb;
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1617669225066926
<https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1617669225066926&id=31525253530
8608> &id=315252535308608 ;
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10158275276070798
<https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10158275276070798&id=1025270307
97> &id=102527030797 ; 
https://khabar.ndtv.com/video/show/prime-time/shocking-report-of-police-vand
alism-from-up-536043
 
The Uttar Pradesh government, instead of declaring compensation for the dead
and injured, has started a campaign with the Chief Minister aggressively
saying that the cost of damage to public property would be extracted from
the protestors.  Video recording clearly show that it is the police that is
indulging in damage and blaming peaceful protestors.  The damage  done by
the police in Jamia Millia University in Delhi has been widely reported and
shown. 
 
The Uttar Pradesh situation  is taking an ugly turn of communal polarization
spearheaded by the BJP.  The BJP leaders, including Ministers who are in
office under the oath of the Indian Constitution, have warned the repetition
of "Godhra-like situation".  The CPI(M) appeals the people not to fall prey
to such provocations.  
 
The Uttar Pradesh government is seeking to convert these protests as being
done only by the Muslims.  The reality is that all Indians who cherish our
Constitution, irrespective of religion,  are in the midst of peaceful
protests.  Of the 69 Left activists arrested in Banaras, only 13 are Muslim,
56 are non-Muslim.  
 
The Left parties in Uttar Pradesh have decided to observe protest day in all
district headquarters on December 30.  The Left parties have appealed to
others to join these peaceful protests.
 
In Karnataka, two people have been shot by the police in Mangaluru.  The
RSS/BJP workers have attacked and burnt the CPI office in Bengaluru.
 
At various places in Tripura, the BJP state government has unleashed police
attacks on peaceful protestors.  In Belonia, Udaipur and other places,
several CPI(M) activists have been arrested.
 
In Gujarat, over 50 CPI(M) activists were arrested.  CPI(M) Central
Committee member, Arun Mehta, was arrested and detained and subsequently
released on bail.  The arrests of CPI(M) workers are continuing.  
 
The right to peaceful assembly and protest is guaranteed by the Indian
Constitution.  This right is being mercilessly assaulted by the BJP today.
Such authoritarian atrocities will not be tolerated by the Indian people.
The Indian people had once fought against the authoritarian assaults and
restored democracy in the 1970s.  This shall be done once again through
peaceful protests.
 
For every Indian patriot, there is only one "book" - the Constitution of
India.  Protecting the Indian Constitution from being violated  through the
CAA/NRC/NPR is an act of supreme patriotism.  The peaceful protests will
continue to protect and defend our Constitution and its secular democratic
foundations.
 
Indian Communists have been braved many attacks and fought against the
British, which banned the parties in their struggle for freedom. The mighty
struggles with countless martyrs, pre-independence and post-independence, is
a glorious chapter in the history of our country.
 
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) appeals to the people to continue the protest
peacefully and not to fall prey to any provocations.
 
 
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