Former CM Pinarayi and Mamata detained during Delhi crackdown
Police have detained two former chief ministers, Pinarayi Vijayan and Mamata Banerjee, who joined protests by youth groups in Delhi on Saturday (October 10, 2026) in a show of solidarity.
Mr. Vijayan, former Chief Minister of Kerala, was picked up from Kerala House near Jantar Mantar. Former West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Banerjee was picked up from the South Avenue bus stand right in front of the flats allotted to MPs.
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Jantar Mantar march
The leadership of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) managed to catch the police by surprise after staying overnight at Kerala House, which is just a few meters away from Jantar Mantar – a place the police tried to keep the protesters away from. Party leaders, including general secretary MA Baba and senior leaders Brinda Karat, John Brittas, KN Balagopal, KK Shailaja, P. Sivadasan and P. Rajeeve came out of Kerala House towards Jantar Mantar shouting slogans. They were immediately detained by the police.
In a video message posted on social media, Ms Karat said, “Amit Shah dekh lo, hum pahunch gaye Jantar Mantar (Look Amit Shah, we have reached Jantar Mantar)”. The group was split up and Mr. Vijayan was taken along with others to the Chattarasal Stadium where other party workers and leaders turned the detention into an academic meeting with lectures on civic issues among others.
Forty minutes later, Mr. Vijayan, along with Mr. Brittas and Mr. Balagopal, were put back into the police jeep and taken to another location. “If a person who served as Chief Minister for 10 years is treated like this, imagine the plight of the common man. Delhi is under siege and his basic civil liberties are being taken away,” said Mr. Brittas, a Rajya Sabha MP.
A few hours later, Ms. Banerjee, who was sitting on a dharna at the South Avenue bus stand, right outside the MPs’ flats, along with Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen, Lok Sabha MPs Protima Mandal and Samirul Islam and former MP Saket Gokhal, were picked up by the Delhi Police.
“Treated like criminals”
TMC chief Mamata Banerjee was detained after she took part in a dharna protest at the South Avenue bus stand in New Delhi on October 10, 2026. (Photo: X/@AITCofficial)
Ms. Banerjee said on phone from Dwarka North police station that she and her colleagues were treated like “criminals” even though only six of them sat peacefully without raising slogans or hanging banners.
“The Delhi Police treated us like criminals, like murderers. They put us in a prison van and drove us around Delhi for two hours. This is the first time in my political career that I have sat in a prison van,” Ms. Banerjee said.
She likened Saturday’s (October 10) crackdown by the Delhi government to “judgment day”.
“I wanted to return to Kolkata on a 9 pm flight, (but) I decided to stay back. I will go to the Supreme Court along with other leaders of the INDIA bloc (Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance),” she said.
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said that the administration may have succeeded in shutting down one Jantar Mantar, but that would only give birth to many more Jantar Mantars.
“Jantar Mantar is a spirit. And that spirit shone through today. The police is here to arrest us and we are here to preserve democracy,” he said.
Published – 10 Oct 2026 20:36 IST