Left parties announce day-long protest against Home Minister Amit Shah 

Leaders of five Left parties announced a day-long protest on December 30, demanding Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation over his “disrespectful and derogatory” comments on B.R. Ambedkar. The parties also condemned the “One Nation, One Election” proposal, calling it a direct assault on federal structure and right of State legislatures.

The leaders of the Communist Party of India, CPI (Marxist), CPI (Marxist-Leninist), Revolutionary Socialist Party, and the All India Forward Bloc met on Sunday in Delhi. The meeting was the first of many planned, as the parties decided to work closely, and hold joint actions on issues. 

In a statement issued on Monday (December 23, 2024), the parties noted that Mr. Shah’s “disrespectful and derogatory” remarks on Dr. Ambedkar in Rajya Sabha led to widespread anger and protests across the country. “However, neither Amit Shah nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi are willing to own up responsibility and take remedial action,” the statement said. To press for Mr. Shah’s resignation, the Left parties announced a day-long protest on December 30. 

The parties also unequivocally opposed the proposal of simultaneous elections, for which two Bills including a Constitutional amendment Bill, were introduced in Parliament. “The proposed amendments to the Constitution are a direct assault on the federal structure and the rights of State legislatures and the people who elect them. It is a recipe for centralisation and truncating the will of the people by arbitrary reduction of the five-year term of legislatures,” the Left parties said in a statement. The Left parties also announced a countrywide campaign against simultaneous elections.

They demanded the withdrawal of the amendment to the Conduct of Election Rules whereby the right of public inspection of electronic documents such as CCTV cameras and video footage was annulled.

Published - December 23, 2024 08:40 pm IST