Statement Issued by the RCPI on the Ongoing Struggles in Delhi: In Support of the Masses Fighting

The Revolutionary Communist Party of India strongly condemns the massive violence in Delhi and elsewhere, the use of tens of thousands of police and paramilitary forces airlifted into Delhi, the detention of thousands of people, the closing of metro stations, the threats to the Muslim community by the police, the massive cancellation of trains, the detention of four former Chief Ministers, as well as of vast numbers of other protestors, even far away from the site of protest, namely Jantar Mantar, the use of police without name tags as well as the protection given by the police to the right-wing thugs, over the past few days. 

All of this has been done to prevent the mass protest against the fraudulent actions of Chief Election Officer Gyanesh Kumar, including above all the SIR carried out without ECI majority agreement. The police actions were taken under the orders of the Union Home Ministry, headed by Amit Shah. This is an attack on the fundamental democratic rights of people to protest, and a defence of a supposedly autonomous bureaucrat that shows how closely the government and allegedly autonomous parts of the state apparatus are working to keep the BJP in power.

We demand that the Delhi Police and the Union Home Ministry immediately cease and desist from these anti-democratic actions. We call upon the protesting masses and the leadership on the ground to rely on their self-organisation, and not on “lesser evils” who use similar tactics against protests where they are in power. We congratulate the youth, the working people, who have poured out in huge numbers, and pledge to fight with them while exposing the fascist forces for what they are.

The movement should not stop at the sacking or resignation of Gyanesh Kumar. It should move forward with demands for radical reforms to the electoral system to make it more democratic and free from corporate influence.