Left Parties protest at Jantar Mantar over labour unrest, submit memorandum

On Friday, April 24, 2026, Left parties and student organisations including the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union staged a joint demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to highlight growing labour unrest across Delhi-NCR’s industrial clusters. The protest, organized by the Communist Party of India (CPI) and other left parties such as the Revolutionary Socialist Party, Forward Bloc, and the Communist Ghadar Party of India, drew participation from workers and labour leaders in Noida, Ghaziabad and Delhi, with support from student groups. A memorandum addressed to the prime minister, the union home minister and the labour minister was submitted, raising concerns over non-payment of minimum wages, expansion of contract labour, unsafe working conditions and alleged violations of labour laws in industrial belts including Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram. Speakers condemned arrests of labour activists in the Noida region and the use of force against protests as a violation of democratic rights. The memorandum demanded the immediate release of arrested labour leaders, withdrawal of cases against workers, strict enforcement of minimum-wage laws, regulation of contract labour and greater accountability of labour departments. It urged central intervention to address workers’ grievances and warned that agitation would be intensified if demands were not addressed.