The CPI (ML) condemned the arrest of the rural poor and party’s district secretary Sanjay Nishad on December 27 and their subsequent imprisonment. They had been protesting peacefully at the village secretariat since December 25 against corruption in rural works in Sonbarsa village of Nichlaul tehsil in Maharajganj district.

State secretary Sudhakar Yadav said in a statement issued on Saturday that the government, which used to chant the slogan of zero tolerance, did not like to hear voices against corruption.

“The villagers were sitting on an indefinite strike in Maharajganj demanding action against corruption in rural development works and the village head. Earlier, they had received written and authentic information about corruption under the Right to Information (RTI). They started the dharna after informing the block development officer (BDO) about the programme. On the third day of the protest on Friday, the police, led by Kothibhar police station in-charge, reached the protest site and arrested three people, including Sanjay Nishad, and sent them to jail,” he said.

The CPI (ML) state secretary stated that due to the police action, there was anger among the villagers, justice-loving people in the area, and the public.

“The government is oppressing the poor. The protest at the rural secretariat of Sonbarsa was started under the statewide call of the All India Agricultural and Rural Labourers Association (AIARLA) for a campaign to run from December 20-26,” Yadav said.

He said that under the autocratic government, villagers were being sent to jail even for the crime of protesting, and this was an insult to democracy. He congratulated the villagers for continuing the protest even after the arrest of the leading comrades.

He also demanded the unconditional immediate release of the jailed comrades and action on the issues raised by the protest.