Azad Samaj Party leader Chandra Shekhar Azad took oath as the MP from Uttar Pradesh's Nagina in the 18th Lok Sabha on June 25. After taking his oath, the first time MP while holding a copy of the Constitution, raised slogans of "Jai Bhim, jai Bharat, jai Samvidhan, jai Mandal, jai Johar, jai jawan, jai kisan." He said that these slogans are connected to the people.
In an exclusive conversation with Hindustan Times' Kumkum Chadha, Azad said,"These slogans are linked to great personalities. ‘Jai Bhim’ and ‘Jai Bharat’ are our identities. When the Mandal Commission came into existence, the backward communities got an opportunity to breathe and move forward."
“I thanked India's democracy and the people of India. But an MP did not like it and taunted me saying will you give the entire speech today itself. I told the MP that's why I have come here. I am here to speak and you will have to listen,” Azad said.
The MP added,"Those who snatched away our rights, they should develop the habit of listening to us."
Chandra Shekhar Azad on becoming the voice of deprived
During the interview, Chandra Shekhar Azad spoke on the atrocities faced by the weaker sections of society. “There are a lot of men who pick faecal matter to earn a living. Some women work in the fields owned by landlords. They even work at construction sites while carrying their baby on their shoulders. Nobody wants to think about them.”
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“There are crores of women who have never travelled by an airplane, helicopter or even an air-conditioned compartment of a train. A large section of society in the country is deprived,” he said.
“I am the voice of people who are insulted for riding a horse during marriage procession, who are not allowed to keep moustache and killed for inter-caste marriage," Azad added.
The Azad Samaj Party MP revealed he faced caste discrimination hundreds of times right from school till graduation. “When I went to an office for my certificate, the officers let alone issuing it to me refused to even listen.”
“In my school, my teacher taunted me saying I had come here on the basis of reservation and was seeking scholarship. I was abused with casteist slurs in the classroom,” he recalled.
Azad on his father's death
Azad recalled how he was unable to get his father treated for an illness, which led to his death. “I took my father to AIIMS in Delhi. I could not arrange a stretcher for him for three days. That day I realised what power and money are all about. If I had power, money and political connections, my father could have been saved,” he said.
Azad recalled how he was unable to get his father treated for an illness, which led to his death. “I took my father to AIIMS in Delhi. I could not arrange a stretcher for him for three days. That day I realised what power and money are all about. If I had power, money and political connections, my father could have been saved,” he said.