Former student and CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar has joined the Congress party, saying there is a need to save country’s democracy.
.He was inducted at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in New Delhi in the presence of party leader Rahul Gandhi.
On joining the Congress on Tuesday, he said, “I have joined the Congress Parivar… I have not come to save the party… whatever the party will do to save the democracy, I will work with it.”
“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,” Mr Kumar said at a press meet after joining Congress.
“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 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”.
Posters welcoming him to the party were put up outside the Congress office hours ahead of his switch. He reportedly met Mr Gandhi twice recently over two weeks. He also met Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
A former president of the JNU Students’ Union, Kanhaiya 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.
At the event, Gujarat Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani, too, extended his support to the outfit.
A lawyer and former journalist, the Dalit leader’s expression of support for the Congress comes at a time when the party is reaching out to the community — it recently replaced Amarinder Singh as Punjab Chief Minister with Charanjit Singh Channi, a member of a Scheduled Caste.
“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,” Mr Mewani said.
