Recently Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dr. Subramanian Swamy (Dr. SS) called the Aam Aadami Party (AAP) an anti-national party. Dr. SS is very well known for making controversial statements as well as sensational accusations, he has been doing this for a long time, but most of the time media used to ignore his statements. Nowadays he is again a popular figure in Indian politics because of the role played by him in the 2G spectrum scam case which resulted in the arrest of Mr. A. Raja (minister of communications and IT, 2007-2009) and a few others. The case created a lot of controversies and media hype, and because of all this nowadays his statements are getting a lot of media coverage and attention. This man always amazes me with his statements and articles. He is such a talented and intelligent person, with a good intention and some good ideas to make India a better country, but because of his sectarian views and personal hatred for some people (like Gandhis), he sometimes makes such horrendous statements that one is forced to wonder about his mental state. I think his recent statement related to AAP came because of somewhat different views of some AAP leaders on the Kashmir issue and the recent meeting of Mr. Arawind Kejriwal (AK) with controversial cleric Tauqueer Raza Khan, who allegedly issued a fatwa against Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen.
Dr. SS didn't like that one of the members of AAP Mr. Prashant Bhushan said that a plebiscite could be one of the solutions which can help to reduce the alienation of people of Kashmir. AAP had distanced itself from Mr. Bhushan's views calling it his personal opinion and not the party's stand. However, in India, it's very rare to see a politician who can have totally opposite or different views on any sensitive topic than their party's view. Actually, I like this aspect of AAP where a person is not forced to accept the party's stand if they do not agree with it. People should not be penalized for expressing what they believe, this should be allowed and welcomed in a true democracy. People with different opinions can also team up and work together for the betterment of society and the country. I don't think there is anything wrong with it.
AAP has tried to maintain complete transparency in their financial dealings as well as candidate selection for election. No other party including Dr. SS's own party operates in such a transparent way. Many antisocial elements, people who are facing serious criminal charges get tickets to contest elections from these national parties in the name of political compulsion. They offer excuses like if we don't give the ticket someone else will give it to them, at least AAP is not playing this dirty game and should be applauded for that. As far as Mr. AK's meeting with Tauqueer Raza Khan is concerned, if AK did it only to gather Muslim votes then he and AAP will pay the price for it, but if he did this just to reach every section of society then there is nothing wrong in it. After all, Tauqueer Raza Khan is an Indian citizen, he and whatever community he represents is part of our country, and treating any person as untouchable is not a solution. This is the same BJP who is trying hard to make their prime ministerial candidate Mr. Narendra Modi acceptable to the whole of India (especially to Muslims). They claim he should not be branded as a communal just because of one riot that happened during his tenure in Gujarat, but Dr. SS is not willing to apply the same criteria when it comes to leaders of other communities, how hypocritical? And if Dr. SS is doing all this just to create some controversy and media attention then this is really pathetic and not expected from him. Maybe recent media exposure and popularity have created some sort of pressure or desire in him to remain in the constant limelight. If this is the case, then it's a sad end of an intellectual who had much more potential and capability than just to make some controversial and sensational statements.
I hope people like Dr. SS concentrate on the future of their own party and work towards building a strong India. If people like him are going to judge parties based on the personal opinions of some of their members then I hope they apply the same criteria to their own party also and they accept if someone calls them a party of criminals or rapists or porn watchers. If not, then they should just stop using such double standards, and if they want they can offer some constructive criticism. AAP with all its problems and drawbacks is at least trying to do something different, something which never happened in Indian politics before. I can understand the discomfort of all national parties, I see that they don't appreciate this and like the rise and popularity of AAP. Such wild accusations are not expected at least from a person like Dr. SS. Such accusations may ultimately help AAP and expose the double standards of other political parties. We all know that even AAP is not perfect but at least please don't stoop to such a low level to malign them, it looks pathetic.
[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
Dr. SS didn't like that one of the members of AAP Mr. Prashant Bhushan said that a plebiscite could be one of the solutions which can help to reduce the alienation of people of Kashmir. AAP had distanced itself from Mr. Bhushan's views calling it his personal opinion and not the party's stand. However, in India, it's very rare to see a politician who can have totally opposite or different views on any sensitive topic than their party's view. Actually, I like this aspect of AAP where a person is not forced to accept the party's stand if they do not agree with it. People should not be penalized for expressing what they believe, this should be allowed and welcomed in a true democracy. People with different opinions can also team up and work together for the betterment of society and the country. I don't think there is anything wrong with it.
AAP has tried to maintain complete transparency in their financial dealings as well as candidate selection for election. No other party including Dr. SS's own party operates in such a transparent way. Many antisocial elements, people who are facing serious criminal charges get tickets to contest elections from these national parties in the name of political compulsion. They offer excuses like if we don't give the ticket someone else will give it to them, at least AAP is not playing this dirty game and should be applauded for that. As far as Mr. AK's meeting with Tauqueer Raza Khan is concerned, if AK did it only to gather Muslim votes then he and AAP will pay the price for it, but if he did this just to reach every section of society then there is nothing wrong in it. After all, Tauqueer Raza Khan is an Indian citizen, he and whatever community he represents is part of our country, and treating any person as untouchable is not a solution. This is the same BJP who is trying hard to make their prime ministerial candidate Mr. Narendra Modi acceptable to the whole of India (especially to Muslims). They claim he should not be branded as a communal just because of one riot that happened during his tenure in Gujarat, but Dr. SS is not willing to apply the same criteria when it comes to leaders of other communities, how hypocritical? And if Dr. SS is doing all this just to create some controversy and media attention then this is really pathetic and not expected from him. Maybe recent media exposure and popularity have created some sort of pressure or desire in him to remain in the constant limelight. If this is the case, then it's a sad end of an intellectual who had much more potential and capability than just to make some controversial and sensational statements.
I hope people like Dr. SS concentrate on the future of their own party and work towards building a strong India. If people like him are going to judge parties based on the personal opinions of some of their members then I hope they apply the same criteria to their own party also and they accept if someone calls them a party of criminals or rapists or porn watchers. If not, then they should just stop using such double standards, and if they want they can offer some constructive criticism. AAP with all its problems and drawbacks is at least trying to do something different, something which never happened in Indian politics before. I can understand the discomfort of all national parties, I see that they don't appreciate this and like the rise and popularity of AAP. Such wild accusations are not expected at least from a person like Dr. SS. Such accusations may ultimately help AAP and expose the double standards of other political parties. We all know that even AAP is not perfect but at least please don't stoop to such a low level to malign them, it looks pathetic.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
controversial cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan, who had issued a fatwa against Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen.
Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bjp-accuses-aap-of-attracting-antinational-elements-to-the-party/432473-80-258.html?utm_source=ref_article
Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bjp-accuses-aap-of-attracting-antinational-elements-to-the-party/432473-80-258.html?utm_source=ref_article
controversial cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan, who had issued a fatwa against Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen.
Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bjp-accuses-aap-of-attracting-antinational-elements-to-the-party/432473-80-258.html?utm_source=ref_article
Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bjp-accuses-aap-of-attracting-antinational-elements-to-the-party/432473-80-258.html?utm_source=ref_article
controversial cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan, who had issued a fatwa against Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen.
Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bjp-accuses-aap-of-attracting-antinational-elements-to-the-party/432473-80-258.html?utm_source=ref_article
Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bjp-accuses-aap-of-attracting-antinational-elements-to-the-party/432473-80-258.html?utm_source=ref_article
controversial cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan, who had issued a fatwa against Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen.
Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bjp-accuses-aap-of-attracting-antinational-elements-to-the-party/432473-80-258.html?utm_source=ref_article
Links:Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bjp-accuses-aap-of-attracting-antinational-elements-to-the-party/432473-80-258.html?utm_source=ref_article
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