The Aam Aadmi Party has inducted Neeraj Sethi, the chief of the Shiv Sena’s Delhi unit, into the party. The move has drawn widespread criticism, and led people to question AAP’s secular credentials, after communal posts made by Sethi were resurfaced on social media.
For instance, in 2018, Sethi had posted pictures on his Facebook page referring to 6 December (the date of the demolition of the Babri Masjid) as ‘Shaurya Divas’ (The Day of Bravery).
Hindu far-right organisations such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have often commemorated and celebrated the date of the Babri demolition as ‘Shaurya Divas’. The Aam Aadmi Party is being called out for talking about secularism on one hand, and inducting an individual like Sethi on the other.
Here is a clip of Sethi participating in a rally on 6 December, commemorating it as Shaurya Divas, and telling a mediaperson on camera, “The mandir was ours, is ours and will remain ours. The court will not decide, the Hindus will decide what to do about the temple and where to build it.” Sethi then begins sloganeering, “Saugandh Ram ki khaate hai, mandir wahi banayenge (We swear on Lord Ram, we will build the temple there itself, in Ayodhya).
AAP Claims to Have ‘Converted a Sanghi’
On 18 February, AAP National Executive Member Preeti Sharma Menon tweeted out a video of Sethi describing why he jumped ship from the Shiv Sena to join the Arvind Kejriwal-led party. In her tweet, Menon mistakenly referred to Neeraj Sethi as Nilesh Sethi.
“I have joined the Aam Aadmi Party after seeing the work done by Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi, especially on hospitals and schools. It has influenced me to join the AAP.”Neeraj Sethi, AAP member
But with the party facing a lot of flak on social media regarding Sethi’s induction, Menon posted a follow-up video of Sethi addressing the issue on Thursday, 21 February.
Menon, a senior functionary of the party, captioned the video by asserting that AAP believes in changing mindsets. She wrote, “Hum rajneeti karne nahi, badalne aayein hain. Bada dil rakho, soch badlo tabhi desh badlege. (We are here in politics to bring about change. Keep a big heart, change how you think, only then will the country change.) I am sure Nilesh Sethi will work according to the ideals of our Constitution. If he doesn't, our volunteers won't leave him in peace #SanghiConverted”.
Here’s what Sethi said in his new video:
“Vande Mataram, doston. I am Neeraj Sethi, I left my old party to join the AAP. I want to assure you that if any of the statements I have made in the past have hurt anyone personally, I want to fold my hands, express my disappointment, and apologise for the same. I have now dedicated my life to the AAP. I have never intended to hurt anyone, and neither will I do so in future. Yet, even then, if I have hurt anyone by my statements, I apologise again.”Neeraj Sethi, AAP member
But a lot of folks on Twitter aren’t really buying the whole change-of-heart theory.
Even those who sided with the Aam Aadmi Party’s decision weren’t entirely convinced.
That Preeti Sharma Menon couldn’t get Sethi’s name right in either of her tweets, also got Twitter laughing.
The Ideological Turn(coats)
There were also those on Twitter who pointed out that isn’t the first time that leaders from the Shiv Sena have crossed over to other parties who claim to be ideologically secular and routinely criticise the BJP and the Sena for festering communalism.
For example, Sanjay Nirupam, while he was with the Shiv Sena, had called actor Dilip Kumar a Pakistani. Nirupam, and indeed his party, was miffed that Dilip Kumar had chosen to support Fire, a 1997 film by director Deepa Mehta that featured a lesbian romance. Nirupam had refused to withdraw his remark even after Rajya Sabha Chairman Krishan Kant threatened to act against him. In 2005, Nirupam was welcomed into the Congress party, and was quoted saying, “The moment you give up a party, you give up that party's agenda. I am ready to take up the Congress' programmes and ideology."
Will Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party respond to the controversy any further, or will they wait for the outrage to die out? Either way, the incident shows the ideological compromises that are commonplace in politics, especially in election year.
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