Aam Aadmi Party takes back suspended Gujarat convener to "revamp" organization, make it viable alternative to BJP

By Our Representative
Well-known Gujarat child rights activist Sukhdev Patel, who was suspended from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2015, has rejoined the party in an "attempt" to revamp it. Founder of Gantar, an NGO devoted to child rights, Patel decided made his debut into politics in 2012-end, ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Appointed convener of AAP, Patel brought with him several Gujarat activists to the party. However, internal bickering forced him out of the party three years later. Khadi wearing and known to be having a Gandhian bent of mind with deep understanding of Gujarati society, Patel decided not to leave politics on being suspended from the party.
Patel joined AAP ahead of the party’s announcement to officially kick-start its campaign for the Gujarat assembly elections, slated for December with an “azadi” rally by Arvind Kejriwal in state capital Gandhinagar on March 26.
Addressing newspersons, AAP leader Gopal Rai, in charge of the party's poll organisation in Gujarat, said the party would organise 'azadi' rallies in all 182 constituencies starting on March 16, which will culminate with rally addressed by Kejriwal on March 26 rally.
“We want people to be free of the fear of (BJP President) Amit Shah's gang and that of the BJP government in Gujarat," Rai said, announcing that party volunteers will collect memorandums of demand from all the constituencies to be handed over to Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani.
Founding a small political group called Sushan (good governance) Party after he left AAP, Patel told Counterview, not just he, but the entire group of activists will join AAP. “Our party had still not been registered. We held a meeting and decided to rejuvenate AAP in Gujarat”, he said, "Our Sushan organization will continue as a political NGO."
Amidst reports that he would be part of the party’s manifesto committee, asked what role he has been given, and whether he would become its Gujarat convener again, Patel said, “I am an ordinary member right now. I will work and revive the organization, which is in a dormant state in Gujarat.”
“AAP’s main aim would be create an atmosphere against the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat”, Patel said, adding, “We may not win the elections right now, but we aim to become a formidable force in the December assembly polls.”
Calling Congress policies “disastrous” and “politically suicidal”, Patel, who is known to be close to Gujarat's Jay Prakash Narain group, particularly took exception to senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil’s recent “offer” to Patels to provide 10% reservation if it came to power.
“This type of statement is only vitiating the political atmosphere in Gujarat”, he said, ruling out any truck with the Congress ahead of the assembly polls. “We know that Congress cannot win. It has no chances. The polls will give us an opportunity to become an alternative force”, he said.
Known to be close to a large number of civil rights and grassroots activists in Gujarat, it is not known if they would join Patel again. According sources close to him, during negotiations with AAP leadership to rejoin the party, some senior activists, too, were consulted.

Comments

Stagnating wages since 2014-15: Economists explain Modi legacy for informal workers

By Our Representative Real wages have barely risen in India since 2014-15, despite rapid GDP growth. The country’s social security system has also stagnated in this period. The lives of informal workers remain extremely precarious, especially in states like Jharkhand where casual employment is the main source of livelihood for millions. These are some of the findings presented by economists Jean Drèze and Reetika Khera at a press conference convened by the Loktantra Bachao 2024 campaign.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

'Assault on civic, academic freedom, right to dissent': TISS PhD student's suspension

By Our Representative The Mumbai-based civil rights group All India Secular Forum (AISF) has said that the suspension of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) PhD student Ramadas Prini Sivanandan (30) for two years for allegedly indulging in activities which were "not in the interest of the nation" is meant to send out the message that students and educational institutes will be targeted if they don’t align with the agenda and ideology of the ruling regime. TISS in a notice served to Ramadas has cited that his role in screening the documentary 'Ram Ke Naam' on January 26 as a "mark of dishonour and protest" against the Ram Mandir idol consecration in Ayodhya. Another incident cited in the notice was Ramadas’ participation in the protest against unfair government policies in Delhi under the banner of the Progressive Students' Forum (PSF)-TISS. TISS alleges the institute's name was "misused", which wrongfully created an impression that

Magnetic, stunning, Protima Bedi 'exposed' malice of sexual repression in society

By Harsh Thakor* Protima Bedi was born to a baniya businessman and a Bengali mother as Protima Gupta in Delhi in 1949. Her father was a small-time trader, who was thrown out of his family for marrying a dark Bengali women. The theme of her early life was to rebel against traditional bondage. It was extraordinary how Protima underwent a metamorphosis from a conventional convent-educated girl into a freak. On October 12th was her 75th birthday; earlier this year, on August 18th it was her 25th death anniversary.

Modi win may force Pak to put Kashmir on backburner, resume trade ties with India

By Salman Rafi Sheikh* When Narendra Modi returned to power for a second term in India with a landslide victory in 2019, his government acted swiftly. Just months after the election, the Modi government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution of India. In doing so, it stripped the special constitutional status conferred on Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state, and downgraded its status from a state with its own elected assembly to a union territory administered by the central government in Delhi.

Bill Gates as funder, author, editor, adviser? Data imperialism: manipulating the metrics

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD* When Mahatma Gandhi on invitation from Buckingham Palace was invited to have tea with King George V, he was asked, “Mr Gandhi, do you think you are properly dressed to meet the King?” Gandhi retorted, “Do not worry about my clothes. The King has enough clothes on for both of us.”

Why it's only Modi ki guarantee, not BJP's, and how Varanasi has seen it up-close

"Development" along Ganga By Rosamma Thomas* I was in Varanasi in this April, days before polling began for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. There are huge billboards advertising the Member of Parliament from Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The only image on all these large hoardings is of the PM, against a saffron background. It is as if the very person of Modi is what his party wishes to showcase.

Following the 3000-year old Pharaoh legacy? Poll-eve Surya tilak on Ram Lalla statue

By Sukla Sen Located at a site called Abu Simbel in Nubia, Upper Egypt, the eponymous rock temples were created in 1244 BCE, under the orders of Pharaoh Ramesses II (1303-1213 BC)... Ramesses II was fond of showcasing his achievements. It was this desire to brag about his victory that led to the planning and eventual construction of the temples (interestingly, historians say that the Battle of Qadesh actually ended in a draw based on the depicted story -- not quite the definitive victory Ramesses II was making it out to be).

Joblessness, saffronisation, corporatisation of education: BJP 'squarely responsible'

Counterview Desk In an open appeal to youth and students across India, several student and youth organizations from across India have said that the ruling party is squarely accountable for the issues concerning the students and the youth, including expensive education and extensive joblessness.

Poll promises: Political parties 'playing down' need to retrieve and restore adivasi land

By Palla Trinadha Rao* The Scheduled Tribes population of 10.43 crore constitutes 8.6% of the population in the country inhabiting 26 States and 6 Union Territories. Parliament elections along with Assembly elections in some states have been notified this year.

Counterview

Search This Blog