A number of CPI(M) leaders and members were the target of Indian security forces on the 27th of May. Attacks followed the detainment of Pinarayi Vijayan.
Brutal attack on Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Indian security forces from Enforcement Directorate (ED) organised a raid on Polit Bureau member and former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s residence. CPI(M) assessed this move as a targeted attack on a top opposition leader by the BJP government.
A protest in New Delhi followed Vijayan's detainment. At the protest General Secretary M.A. Baby strongly condemned the action carried out by the ED under the direction of the central government and stated that the raid on Pinarayi Vijayan’s residence was a politically motivated act of vendetta. He said, "The party has no intention whatsoever of obstructing any investigation process. However, the blatant misuse of central agencies by the central government for political targeting cannot be accepted. The party will mobilize people and organize strong protests across the country against the selective targeting of opposition leaders and the attacks on democratic rights."
The police brutally repressed this protest as leaders and workers were beaten and taken away. General Secretary M.A. Baby, Polit Bureau members Mariam Dhawale and Vijoo Krishnan, party leader Brinda Karat were detained along with more than one hundred leaders and workers. They were released later in the day.
CPI(M) workers staged protests across Tamil Nadu against the raids on the residence of Pinarayi Vijayan and his family and the police brutality on protesting party workers in Delhi.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau member R Arun Kumar and CPI(M) Madhya Pradesh State Secretary Jaswinder Singh led a demonstration in Bhopal against the ED raids at the residences of Polit Bureau member and former Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan and his family.
Communist Party of India condemned the attacks
The attacks were condemned by D. Raja, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India. He said, "The raids conducted by the ED at the residence of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan are a clear act of political vendetta and yet another example of the BJP-led Union Government’s brazen misuse of central investigative agencies. Such actions are aimed at intimidating the left, targeting political opponents, and undermining the federal principles. The repeated weaponisation of agencies like the ED against opposition-ruled states and dissenting political voices poses a serious threat to democracy and federalism. All democratic, secular, and federal forces must come together against these authoritarian attempts to silence and intimidate political opposition."