AAP Kaanto Ka Taj Hain, Walking on Ambedkar’s Path of Sangharsh and Seva: Arvind Kejriwal to Cadre

“Whoever comes into the party must understand that this is a crown of thorns (kaanto ka taj hai),” Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told party legislators and office-bearers in the party headquarters on the occasion of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s death anniversary on Wednesday.

The 11-year-old party has the photographs of Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh prominently displayed in its offices in both Punjab and Delhi. Kejriwal has often spoken about the lives of both in his public speeches and today was another such occasion. The chief minister said, “There were two mantras of Babasaheb’s life — sangharsh and seva. These two apply to us. When we won 67 out of 70 seats, I had thought that now the struggle is over and we can serve people. However, the manner in which they harassed us, did not allow us to work, created so many obstacles, brought one law after another snatching our powers, stripped us of our powers…but we continued to perform. Then, I started thinking that the AAP was born to struggle.”

ON THE CRISIS

Kejriwal pointed at the challenging situation that the party finds itself in, with four of its key leaders in jail, the sword hanging on the heads of others and drew parallels with Ambedkar’s life and the latter’s refusal to compromise. “Today, four of your leaders are in jail. If they were to compromise and join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), they will be out in two days. Look at Manish Sisodia, his son is in Canada and there is no one to take care of his ailing wife. However, he is still behind bars for the past 10 months. If Manish Sisodia were to join hands with the BJP, he would live a good life. Lekin nahi. Babasaheb Ambedkar ke chele hain…mar jayenge, kat jayenge, par jhukenge nahi (We are the disciples of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, we will not compromise no matter the price we have to pay).”

Kejriwal implied that all it took for AAP’s jailed leaders to be quickly out was a “compromise” with the BJP, however, they refused to do so.

“We are here to fight for the country. We will not compromise on our ideals just like Ambedkar never did. We will not compromise the interest of our country. The second is service… We must understand that we have been given power to serve the people of the country and understand that arrogance will lead to downfall,” the AAP supremo reminded party office-bearers. He also said that despite the many hurdles being created, Delhi would remain an AAP bastion. “No one can snatch Delhi from you. They may create obstacles.”

‘PARTIES COPIED OUR GUARANTEES’

Claiming that AAP was the only party that had a strong focus on reforming government schools and making quality education accessible to the poor, Kejriwal argued, “Look at this even today- all these parties have stolen our agenda. We were the first who told people about ‘Kejriwal’s guarantee’. Now, both parties (the BJP and the Congress) are talking about guarantees… ghoshana patra, sankalp patra, manifesto sab gayab… guarantee. All are talking about guarantees, all are talking about free electricity etc. however, no one is talking about education. Only the AAP can give a guarantee of education. Why? We are Ambedkar’s disciples.”

‘ON EDU AGENDA’

The AAP supremo also stressed on the humble, non-political roots of many of its leaders beginning with himself and argued that good education was indeed the panacea to get out of poverty. “My father, my mother, my grandmother, my grandfather, my aunts and uncles, there is not a single person in politics in my family. Our MLAs have come from ordinary families. We understand the value of education that if one person in family gets good education, it ensures that the family sees better days. And, if children in a family fail to get education, then that family continues to remain poor for generations together.”

The chief minister alleged that traditional political parties have knowingly deprived people of good quality education. “The more I think about this the more I feel that knowingly, the people of the country were kept uneducated. If within five-seven years, the AAP government in Delhi can give good quality education to 2 crore people, then, in 75 years, could 140 crore people not have been given good education?”

Kejriwal also dwelled on the life of Dr B R Ambedkar beginning with the latter’s childhood days on how he had to battle both poverty and untouchability and the emphasis Ambedkar lay on good education. He said,’ it is our country’s misfortune that he left us early. If he had lived for another 10 to 15 years, I believe , he would have reformed all government schools in his lifetime. In the past 75 years, all these parties destroyed government schools. Education is not part of their agenda. No party wants that the children of the poor should get good education. The independence struggle gave birth to many stalwarts. Yet ,it was only Ambedkar who gave so much priority to education because he had gone through that experience’.

AAP minister Raaj Kumar Anand, former minister Rajendra Pal Gautam, MLAs Vishesh Ravi, Kuldeep Kumar, incidentally all belonging to the Dalit community, along with RS MP Sandeep Pathak, MLA Dilip Pandey along with other office-bearers and workers were present in the party office.

In the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, the AAP had won all 12 seats reserved for SC candidates. In fact, in 2013 , the first election that AAP contested in Delhi, it had won 9 of the 12 seats reserved for SC, with the Dalit voters shifting away from both the Congress and the BSP. With time, that trend has only become stronger.