Communist Party of India leader and former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president, Kanhaiya Kumar, targeted the Narendra Modi government on Thursday during the ‘samvidhan bachao, nagrikta bachao’ (save constitution, save citizenship) rally for its “divert and rule” policy, where “real issues such as an unprecedented 45-year-high unemployment and ‘aam aadmi’ denial of their basic daily necessities are being glossed over with impunity”.
He took an aim at the Centre for promoting nepotism and crony capitalism while “every hour a youth is committing suicide for the growing joblessness”.
“The government introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to divide the country and divert the attention of people from the real issues that we are facing,” he said amid ‘azadi’ slogans by a cheering crowd who was seen recording his fiery speech on their smartphones.
Kumar’s rally marked the conclusion of the Jan Gan Man yatra that started on January 30 from Bhitharwa Ashram in West Champaran district. The firebrand speaker along with the member of legislative assembly (MLA) from Kadwa constituency, Shakeel Ahmed Khan, addressed 62 rallies across the state’s 38 districts over the past four weeks, despite Kumar being attacked at least nine times by his rivals. An emotionally charged Kumar, who overshadowed other leaders, including Khan,also an ex-JNUSU president, appeared to take the attacks on him in his stride. “Even, Congress leader Awadesh Singh’s vehicle was not spared by the mob,” he said.
Kumar clarified that yatra has nothing to do with the Bihar election slated to be held later this year, but “saving the constitution is the need of the hour”. “If only the constitution of country remains, then only the elections will be held. So. it is of utmost important to save the constitution.” He accused the Modi government’s complicity in the north-east Delhi violence and questioned it for not lodging a sedition case against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra, who had allegedly instigated the crowd.
{{/usCountry}}Kumar clarified that yatra has nothing to do with the Bihar election slated to be held later this year, but “saving the constitution is the need of the hour”. “If only the constitution of country remains, then only the elections will be held. So. it is of utmost important to save the constitution.” He accused the Modi government’s complicity in the north-east Delhi violence and questioned it for not lodging a sedition case against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra, who had allegedly instigated the crowd.
{{/usCountry}}He demanded that the Nitish Kumar-led government must issue a notification with immediate effect, upholding its promise of implementing the NPR on the basis of the old 2010 format and an outright rejection of carrying out the NRC survey.
Kumar also slammed the Bihar government for failing to reap the demographic dividends as “health care is on sick bed, influx of students and job aspirants to other states”.
DM Diwakar, a political expert from AN Sinha Institute of Social Sciences, said that Thursday’s rally was a show of strength, which would give the Left parties an edge to negotiate more seats from their allies in the assembly election.