Police detain Left leaders staging protest in support of Samsung workers

Scores of the Left party members including their state leaders were detained here on Saturday when they held a demonstration without obtaining permission from the police, to express solidarity with the Samsung home appliance workers on protest since September 9.

Communist Party of India state secretary R Mutharasan and CPI (M) state secretary K Balakrishnan who were among those detained by the police, sought the immediate intervention of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin to resolve the strike by the Samsung workers.

They stressed that the protesting workers had a right to join a union and alleged that the workers were being oppressed.

A senior police official said all those detained would be kept at a marriage hall in Nungambakkam and later released.

While Balakrishnan wondered if the arrest, following their demonstration, was aimed at not upsetting the Samsung management, Mutharasan claimed that the Constitution allowed peaceful protests.

"Also, the question is: do we have the