The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statementon October 16, 2026

THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses serious concern over the Supreme Court judgment holding that a person converting from Hinduism to another religion cannot automatically claim backward class reservation benefits on the basis of their pre-conversion caste status.

[This is Part 2 of a two-part series which was originally published as a single article in The Wire on October 9, 2026. Part 1 was published in last week’s issue.]

RTI intervention with the ECI

THE struggle over defending the right to vote has spilled over to issues which are more fundamental to Indian nationhood. At the same time, it has also inevitably brought to fore the question of right to peaceful protest and public assembly. These are the issues which were once thought to have been settled through the adoption of our Constitution on January 26, 1950.

The Supreme Court has registered CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas’s letter to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant as Interlocutory Application No. 319609/2026 in the pending writ petition initiated by CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby and others challenging restrictions on peaceful protests in New Delhi.

Brittas appeared before the Court and argued in person after his letter was taken up in the ongoing proceedings. The Chief Justice assured him that he would receive a full hearing and that the Court would examine all the facts of the matter.

Brazil’s general election on 4 October delivered a severe warning to the Left. Flávio Bolsonaro, the presidential candidate of the Liberal Party (PL), finished ahead of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, with approximately 47 per cent against 45 per cent. Neither secured a majority, sending them into a runoff on 25 October. More troubling than this narrow presidential gap was the advance of bolsonarismo through Congress.