Home Adivasis Rise of political parties with religious identity is sad: Yogendra Yadav

Rise of political parties with religious identity is sad: Yogendra Yadav

By Abdul Gani, TwoCircles.net,

Guwahati: Expelled Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Yogendra Yadav on Friday said the rise of political parties with religious identity in the country is unfortunate.

Addressing Swaraj Samvad, a dialogue on present and future of alternative politics in Guwahati, the renowned academic said that this development has proved that all the so-called secular political parties have failed.


Former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav speaking on the occasion in Guwahati on Friday.
Former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav speaking on the occasion in Guwahati on Friday.

Mentioning the parties such as All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), he said the Muslims who have been used for just votes, have started to find a way out.

“Secularism is the very foundation of India but the so-called secular parties such as Congress, Samajwadi party and Rashtriya Janata Dal have been using the Muslims only for votes. It actually means that Muslims are being used as hostage,” Yadav who has also been a senior fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), said.

Even Shiv Sena and the BJP fall in the same line, he said adding, “If AIUDF feeds BJP, Shiv Sena feeds AIMIM. We need policies that do not use the minorities.”

On the rise of religious and ethnicity based political parties, he termed it as “sad” and a “defeat of politics.”

“Specifically in Assam, lots of parties have taken the ethnic roots and every ethnicity has its own party. For me, it’s a defeat of politics. This means surrender of politics. Politics is about uniting. Politics is about creating broad platform. It will be ultimate death of politics. It means there is no politics. Politics is about creative activity,” he said.

He also said that ‘desh ka sapna’ can be started from northeast, which otherwise has always been neglected. Rueing at the racial discrimination, Yadav said the northeast is often regarded as ‘after-thought’ by the policy makers of the country.

“There is lack of information, sensitiveness and understanding about the northeast. It’s like they (policy makers) make the schemes and later, like a post script, add something for the region. It’s time that efforts should be made that ‘desh ka sapna’ starts from the region,” he said.

Yadav expressed grief that many educated persons to whom he had talked failed to write a sentence to describe the northeastern states such as Mizoram and Nagaland.

Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were among those expelled by the AAP earlier this month. The splinter group has been holding Swaraj Samvad meetings across India since then. On taking part in active politics, he said, “We have decided that we will not form a party now. We will make a journey across the country. And at the end of it, we meet with all the workers and will decide what to do.”

On the conflict with the AAP central leadership, Yadav said that there is nothing personal. “It’s not about personal ambition or rivalry. It was a problem of hundreds of our workers and volunteers. The AAP movement had brought a ray of hope. Many had started to have faith in politics. And this was a national asset. But it seems that now the people who came out leaving their lucrative careers or businesses have tired. But today, we are here to rescue the national asset.”

Addressing the programme where a number of youths and AAP volunteers participated, he said that the movement still continues. “It was not just for a seat of CM or MLA. It’s beyond that. We wanted to bring a change in the face of the country. This movement has also proved that the youths have the feel of patriotism and ideology. They can bring the change. The movement also proved that big political parties can be challenged,” he said.

But, while going to cure the infection, the doctors and nurses got the infection themselves, Yadav said in a sarcastic way in order to mean the present status of AAP.

Meanwhile, AAP had advised its volunteers not to attend the meeting on Friday. Though Manoram Gogoi, the spokesperson of Assam AAP, said workers want to listen to their leader Yadav, the central leadership has advised its volunteers not to attend the meeting.

Even the Maharashtra AAP unit had cautioned party workers in a fresh reminder that supporting the campaign of Yadav and Bhushan will be considered as an ‘anti- party’ activity.

However, the meeting saw a large participation of AAP volunteers, including Manoram Gogoi indicating Yadav’s pull.