Country can’t survive without Cong: Kumar

Former Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Kanhaiya Kumar joined the Congress on Tuesday in the presence of former party chief Rahul Gandhi,  Gujarat Dalit leader and Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani, who also was scheduled to be inducted in the grand old party but did not due to technical issues.

Mevani extended his support to the Congress and announced he will contest the next year’s Gujarat Assembly polls on the Congress symbol.

Kanhaiya said, “I am joining the Congress because it’s not just a party, it’s an idea. It’s the country’s oldest and most democratic party, and I am emphasising on ‘democratic’...Not just me, but many think the country can’t survive without Congress.”

His induction in the party was, however, not appreciated by certain quarters in the Congress, as former Union Minister Manish Tewari put out a cryptic tweet saying it would be worthwhile to look at the history of Communists’ presence in the party.

Reacting to the development, CPI  general secretary D Raja said Kumar expelled himself from the party and alleged that he was “not truthful” with the CPI leadership and also not “straightforward” in his demands from the party.

“Kumar expelled himself from the party. He was not truthful to the party. The CPI existed long before he  came into the party’s fold and will continue to exist after his exit,” Raja said in a statement.  Raja also questioned Kumar’s faith in the Communist ideology.

“He must be having personal as well as political ambitions and aspirations. It shows he has no faith in the Communist ideology,” Raja said.

The moves by Kumar and Mevani have come at a time when some prominent leaders have left the Congress in recent months. While Kumar had joined the CPI ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election and had unsuccessfully contested from Begusarai in Bihar against Giriraj Singh of the BJP,  Mevani, who is MLA from Vadgam constituency in Gujarat, is the convener of the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch (RDAM).

Kumar felt that a particular ideology was trying to ruin India’s values, culture, history, and future. He also claimed that “crores of youngsters” feel that the country “can’t be saved without saving the 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,” said the former JNU Students’ Union leader. Kumar was jailed over alleged “anti-national slogans” raised at an event in 2016 to mark the death anniversary of Parliament attack mastermind Afzal Guru.

Mevani is a lawyer-activist and a former journalist. Mevani’s entry into the Congress comes at a time when it is wooing the scheduled castes community after handpicking the first Dalit Chief Minister of Punjab Charanjit Singh Channi.

 “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 but I will fight the upcoming Gujarat polls from Congress symbol,” Mewani said on the occasion at AICC headquarters.

“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,” Mevani said.

Welcoming Kumar, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said his party was looking forward to working with him and Mevani to defeat “fascist forces” ruling this country.

 “Kumar is a symbol of the fight for freedom of expression in this country. He fought against fundamentalism as a student leader. The joining of kind of dynamic personality will fill the entire cadre of Congress with enthusiasm,” said the Congress at a joint Press conference.

Earlier in the day, citing a book by Mohan Kumaramangalam, Tewari said “the more things change, the more they remain the same”. “As speculation abounds about certain Communist leaders joining Congress it perhaps may be instructive to revisit a 1973 book ‘Communists in Congress’ Kumarmanglam Thesis. The more things change the more they perhaps remain the same. I re-read it today,” Tewari said in a tweet.

Tewari is among the “group of 23” leaders who wrote to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi seeking an organisational overhaul and restructuring.