Skip to main content

Top AAP rebel calls Kejriwal Stalin, his, Bhushans' expulsion Stalinist purge

Top Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rebel Yogendra Yadav, a psephologist whom many consider as one of the best political scientists of India, has sought to compare Delhi chief minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal with Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. He has gone on to compare the way in his he and his two colleagues -- father and son duo Shanti and Prashant Bhushan -- were expelled from the party's top political executive committee with "Stalinist purge".
Making the comparison, which may sound weird  to those familiar with the Stalinist regime, Yadav says he "strongly maintains that what is happening inside our party today has direct parallel with the Stalinist purges inside the Communist Party of the USSR in the 1930s." He has said this, and more, in a rather lengthy reply to Dinesh Waghela, AAP's national executive member, to the show cause action against him and his colleagues for their rebel meet called Swaraj Samvad.
Yadav does not stop here. He says, the way he and his colleagues were dismissed from the AAP's top decision making body reminds one of the "the kangaroo trials, expulsions, witch-hunts, character assassination, rumour campaigns and emotional theatre to justify such macabre acts", all of which characterized "the Stalinist regime."
Pointing out that, thankfully, "there is one difference – there is no Siberia for exile here", Yadav warns Waghela that he too would surely face a similar fate. He says, "I know you were once associated with the JP movement", hence he wanted to tell him "about a book that moved JP very much and led to his final disillusionment with Soviet Union."
This was a book called Assignment in Utopia (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1937) by Eugene Lyons", says Yadav, warning him, "The author, once an ardent fan of Stalin, describes how the infamous Moscow trials led to the purging of all the idealist communists that Stalin wanted to throw away. I do not know about your other two colleagues, but I sincerely hope that you do not end up as one of the many minions of Stalin described in that book."
Yogendra Yadav
Virtually paranoid by the manner in which he received the Show Cause Notice, Yadav appears to suggest this was also done in a Stalnist. He received it "around midnight on the 17th", he says, adding, "The alacrity with which the notice has been issued also invites questions."
Yadav says, "The manner in which this Show Cause Notice has been issued only confirms everyone’s worst suspicions. The timing of the communication and its contents were known to the media before it reached me. I received an email at 10:22 pm with an accurate summary of charges against me, while your email was sent at 11:45 pm and the hard copy reached after mid-night. That raises questions about the independence and intent of the exercise."
Moving over from Stalin to the Emergency under Indira Gandhi between 1975 and 1977, Yadav says, an "an undeclared emergency" prevails in AAP, where the Constitution has been set aside to make for one-person rule", even as justifying the AAP rebels' Swaraj Samwad held at Gurgaon on April 14 as being all about "a dialogue on the present state and future direction of alternative politics."
He claims, "Swaraj Samwad was not and was not presented as an official meet organized by the party. It is therefore pointless to call it 'unauthorized'. It was a gathering of volunteers, supporters and well-wishers of alternative politics. Given that it was an independent initiative, donations were collected from the participants for the event."

Comments

TRENDING

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor. 

Adani Group a key player in Indo-Israel defence cooperation: Tel Aviv daily

Said to be one of the most influential Israeli dailies, "Haaretz" (literally: News of the Land) has identified the Adani Group—known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—as one of the key Indian business houses engaged in defence cooperation with Israel. Pointing out that India supplied the Israeli military with Hermes 900 drones, the daily reported that this advanced aerial vehicle came off “the production line in a factory set up in Hyderabad, as part of the cooperation between the Israeli Elbit and India's Adani Group.”

Environmental concern? Global NGO leads campaign urging banks to cut ties with Odisha steel project

A decade after the withdrawal of the South Korean multinational POSCO from Odisha following large-scale protests, questions remain about whether India-based JSW Steel, which took over the project, can successfully revive the 13.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) steel plant and coal-fired power plant. POSCO initiated the project in 2005 but exited in 2017 due to sustained local opposition.

Despite Hindutva hold claim, 18% Hindus in US don't want to be identified with Hinduism!

Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"

Beyond Indus water treaty suspension: A 'nationalist' push despite harsh climate realities

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) appears to have pushed the middle classes, at least in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, further towards what the powers-that-be would consider—a "positive" direction. As usual, during my morning walk, I tried talking with a neighbour about what impact it would have. Ignoring what is widely considered a "security lapse," this person, who had just returned after buying milk, compared the Modi move with Trump.