Lucknow: Left parties staged a protest in Lucknow against the United States’ military action on Venezuela and the alleged detention and imprisonment of the country’s President and his wife. The protest march was taken out from Parivartan Chowk to the District Magistrate’s office, where demonstrators submitted a two-point memorandum addressed to the Union External Affairs Minister and the US Ambassador. The memorandum was handed over to ACM First Shrichand Kant Tiwari.
As per the pre-announced programme, the demonstration began at 1 pm under the leadership of CPI (ML) district in-charge and state standing committee member Ramesh Singh Sengar, CPI state secretariat member Kanti Mishra, CPI(M) district secretariat member Praveen Singh, and Forward Bloc state leader Uday Nath Singh. Party workers, carrying red flags, raised slogans such as “Down with American imperialism,” “Release the President of Venezuela and his wife,” “US hooliganism will not be tolerated,” “Down with US President Trump,” and “Stop America’s policy of plundering oil through imperialism.”
Addressing a gathering outside the District Magistrate’s office, leaders of the Left parties strongly condemned the US action against Venezuela and criticised the detention of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. They said the incident has shocked peace-loving nations and people across the world, and that there is widespread global opposition to the policies of US President Donald Trump.
The speakers alleged that by violating international laws and norms, the United States has treated a democratically elected and popular leader like a criminal. They claimed the incident exposes how far American imperialism can go to exploit the resources of weaker nations for its own interests.
The Left leaders demanded that the Government of India intervene decisively in the matter and exert diplomatic pressure for the immediate release of the Venezuelan President and his wife. They also called for respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty and independence.
Several leaders and activists participated in the protest, including INOSA state leader Rajeev Gupta, ACTU district minister Kumar Madhusudan Magan, AISA leader Shantam Nidhi, Insaf Manch leader and senior High Court advocate Mohammad Kamil Khan, farmer leader K.K. Chaturvedi, SFI’s Bahav, and R-India Forward Bloc leader Dr. Aarti, among others.
