Agartala, Dec 1 (IANS): Eight senior leaders of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), including former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, were granted bail by a court here on Wednesday after they were booked for violation of Covid protocols during nationwide protests in August last year.

Additional public prosecutor Bidyut Sutradhar said that the police had arrested Sarkar and seven other senior CPI-M leaders along with many party workers on August 26 last year for holding a gathering here, violating the protocols and government restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

After getting the bail, Sarkar, also a CPI-M politburo member, told the media that the Left party as part of its nation-wide agitation against the 'anti-people' policies of the BJP government, and in support of 16 demands, including rolling back the labour act, had organised a protest rally and the police had arrested them before they were subsequently released.

Much later, the police had served notice against many CPI-M leaders and filed charge-sheets in the court, Sarkar said, adding that they would continue to highlight the people's causes and fight against the 'anti-people' policies of the BJP government.

The other CPI-M leaders who have been granted bail by the court include the party's central committee member Badal Chowdhury, former Power Minister Manik Dey, former Deputy Speaker Pabitra Kar, former Lok Sabha MP Sankar Prasad Datta, and party leaders Madhu Sudhan Das, Krishna Rakshit and Rana Das.