Thiruvananthapuram | The CPI(M) on Saturday staged protest marches across Keralam following the detention of party leaders in Delhi during an agitation against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR of electoral rolls.

CPI(M) central committee leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Keralam Assembly Pinarayi Vijayan, party general secretary M A Baby and state secretary M V Govindan, were detained by Delhi Police near Kerala House when they came out to protest against Kumar and the SIR exercise.

In Kozhikode, hundreds of CPI(M) workers, led by Beypore MLA P A Muhammad Riyas, took out a protest march and raised slogans against the Centre., police said.

Addressing the gathering, Riyas said the detention of party leaders in Delhi went against democratic values and the right to protest.

He said the agitation against Kumar would gain further strength in the coming days.

In Kannur, CPI(M) district secretary K K Ragesh led a protest march, while district committees of the party organised demonstrations in various parts of the state.

A protest organised by the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) in Palakkad turned violent, prompting police to use water cannons to disperse the protesters, officials said.

Police are on alert in view of further protest marches expected across the state, officials said