Thiruvananthapuram: The CPM on Saturday staged widespread protest demonstrations across Kerala after several senior party leaders were detained in New Delhi during a demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Summary Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Delhi Police detained key CPN Central Committee members, including Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Pinarayi Vijayan, Party General Secretary M. A. Baby, and State Secretary M. V. Govindan, outside Kerala House as they assembled to protest the CEC and the ongoing SIR drive.

In Kozhikode, hundreds of party cadres led by Beypore MLA P. A. Mohammed Riyas marched through the streets, raising slogans against the Union government. Addressing the demonstrators, Riyas condemned the detentions as an assault on democratic rights and the fundamental right to protest, warning that the agitation against the Election Commission would intensify nationwide in the days ahead.

Similar demonstrations took place across the state, with CPM District Secretary K. K. Ragesh leading a major rally in Kannur alongside other district-level marches.

In Palakkad, a protest organised by the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) escalated into clashes with law enforcement, forcing police to deploy water cannons to disperse the crowd. State police authorities remain on high alert as further demonstrations are anticipated across Kerala. (PTI)