CPI leader and former JNU students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar and Gujarat Dalit leader and independent MLA from Gujarat Jignesh Mewani joined the Congress party in Delhi on Tuesday.
The two influential leaders joined the Congress at the All India Congress Committee headquarters here in the presence of party leader Rahul Gandhi.
Addressing a press conference after his induction into the Congress, Kumar said: “Lakhs and crores of youth today have started believing that the nation won’t survive if Congress doesn’t survive. That’s why I have decided to join the nation’s oldest and most democratic party.”
“I am joining Congress because it is not just a party, it is an idea. It is country’s oldest and most democratic party, and I am emphasising on ‘democratic’…Not just me many think that country can’t survive without Congress…The Congress party is like a big ship, if it’s saved, I believe many people’s aspirations, Mahatma Gandhi’s oneness, Bhagat Singh’s courage and BR Ambedkar’s idea of equality will be protected too. This is why I have joined it…,” he added.
Taking a veiled swipe at the BJP, Kumar said that he took the decision as he “feels that an ideology is trying to ruin the values, culture, history, and future of the country.”
Meanwhile, Mewani said he was part of the Congress ideologically and will fight the upcoming Gujarat polls from the party’s symbol.
“I could not join the Congress formally due to technical reasons. I am an independent MLA, if I join a party, I may not continue as an MLA… I am part of the Congress ideologically, will fight the upcoming Gujarat polls from Congress symbol,” he said.
“To save democracy and the idea of India, I have to be with a party that led the Independence struggle and dragged the British out of the country. This is why I am here with the Congress today,” he added.
Speaking to media, Congress national general secretary KC Venugopal said that the party was looking forward to working with the “young leaders” to defeat the “fascist forces” ruling the country.
“This is one of the happiest moment for all of us to be at the AICC headquarters to receive Kanhaiya, Jignesh and other colleagues,” he said.
Heaping praises on Kumar, Venugopal said that former CPI leader is a “symbol of the fight for freedom of expression” in the country. “The way he fought against fundamentalism in his student life, the world has witnessed. The joining of kind of dynamic personality will fill the entire cadre of Congress with enthusiasm.”
Kumar had joined the Communist Party of India (CPI) ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election and faced defeat at the hands of Giriraj Singh of the BJP from Begusarai seat in Bihar.
Mevani, who is also the convener of the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch (RDAM), had won the Vadgam Assembly seat in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district in 2017 with the support of Congress. Mevani’s political is likely to give a fillip to the Congress party ahead of the Assembly elections in the BJP-ruled Gujarat next year.
Earlier today, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya hit out at the Congress for joining hands with “Breaking India” forces.
“On the anniversary of surgical strike, Congress to admit Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mewani of “Bharat tere tukde honge” fame. This can’t be a mere coincidence. Joining hands with “Breaking India” forces is now Congress’s raison d’être,” Malviya said on Twitter.
Commenting on the political development, Gujarat Congress working president Hardik Patel, earlier in the day, said: “We, youngsters, want to work in Congress, under a leader who talks about development and prosperity. We have raised voice for people of country in past, want to strengthen them and be their voice.”
