In a joint statement issued on Monday, December 23, the Left parties, including the CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), RSP, and AIFB, strongly criticized Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his "disrespectful and derogatory" remarks about Dr. B.R. Ambedkar during a speech in the Rajya Sabha on December 17.

During his speech in the Rajya Sabha, Shah had remarked: "Abhi ek fashion ho gaya hai – Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. Itna naam agar bhagwan ka lete to saat janmon tak swarg mil jata," ("It has become a fashion now to say ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar.’ Had you taken God's name so many times, you would have attained heaven in seven lifetimes").

The Left parties condemned these remarks as deeply offensive and an affront to the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar. In response, they announced a nationwide protest day on December 30, demanding Shah’s resignation as Home Minister.

"The Left parties, therefore, decided to continue with the ongoing protests and have decided to jointly organize a protest day on December 30. The nationwide protest day will demand the resignation of Amit Shah as the Home Minister," the statement read.

The statement follows a meeting of Left party leaders held on Sunday at the CPI headquarters, Ajoy Bhawan, in New Delhi.

Attendees included CPI general secretary D Raja, CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat, CPI(ML)-Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, RSP general secretary Manoj Bhattacharya, CPI national secretaries Girish Chandra Sharma and Annie Raja, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member BV Raghavulu, and AIFB secretary Dharmendra Varma, along with other senior leaders from the participating parties.

The Left parties also voiced their unequivocal opposition to the proposed ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill, describing it as a “direct assault on the federal structure and the rights of State legislatures and the people who elect them.”

The joint statement argued that the proposed constitutional amendments for simultaneous elections would centralize power and undermine democratic principles by arbitrarily curtailing the five-year tenure of elected legislatures.

A countrywide campaign will be launched to oppose this scheme, which the Left parties view as a serious threat to the federal ethos enshrined in the Constitution.

Additionally, the Left parties demanded the immediate withdrawal of recent amendments to the Conduct of Election Rules.

On Friday, the Union government amended the Conduct of Election Rules, limiting public access to election-related documents.

Previously, Rule 93(2)(a) of the 1961 Conduct of Election Rules stated that “all other papers relating to the election shall be open to public inspection.” 

However, the amended rule now specifies: “all other papers as specified in these rules relating to the election shall be open to public inspection.”

These changes annul the public’s right to inspect electronic records, such as CCTV footage and video recordings from polling stations.

The Left leaders criticized this move as a deliberate attempt to erode transparency in the electoral process.