'Kejriwal may have the mandate but he has lost the road map'

'Itni unki umar nahi hai jitne saal mujhe politics karte huan ho gaye hai (I have been in politics longer than the age of most of the AAP leaders)', expelled Aam Aadmi Party leader Professor Anand Kumar tells Rediff.com.

In the aftermath of their expulsion from the AAP, the rebel faction has begun a series of Swaraj Samvaads (open dialogue).

Some issues to be discussed during these dialogues will be: If the AAP’s political movement is being reduced to merely an election machine and if they have ‘fallen prey to the ills of established political cults and success-at-any-cost’.

Now officially the 'outsiders' of the AAP the expelled leadership says this is the beginning of the process of "mobilising the youth, students and women in urban India and farmers in rural India".

One of the expelled members and national convener of the Swaraj Samwad, Professor Anand Kumar below, left tells Upasna Pandey/Rediff.com that "the party may have the mandate for governance in Delhi for five years but it has lost the road map, while the expelled members have the all India instrument to forge ahead and think beyond Delhi."

What is your reaction to the suicide by a farmer at an AAP rally in Delhi?

The farmers of India have always played a key role in all the major movements in the country including the Independence struggle. In the 69th year of Independence, they (farmers) are feeling helpless and expressing their frustration by committing suicides across the country, and now their cries have reached Delhi. It is an alarming situation for us as a nation. It needs to be seen as collective failure of the political leadership and Parliament.

We are all saddened by the news. I have nothing to say about how this incident was handled by the AAP leaders who were present at the venue.

I want to appeal to the farmers that their unity and active support of responsible citizens of the country will ensure they are not pushed to such extreme steps.

How do you see the sentiment of the people of Delhi on the continuing infighting and dissent in the AAP vis-a-vis day-to-day governance in the city?

The fact is that political reality and democracy are compartmentalised; one aspect concerns day-to-day management of law and order and delivery of governance and the other aspect covers principles, ideology and political leadership.

Delhiites have suffered poor governance under the United Progressive Alliance and the Congress government in New Delhi and have been disappointed by the National Democratic Alliance government as well, so they are more interested in the delivery of governance which is quite understandable. The AAP government has many promises to fulfill.

But it is the role of political activists to be far sighted to ensure leadership remains committed to the right principles which drive and help prioritise the same in governance.

How do you react to the reports of the political obituaries that have written off the expelled AAP members?

I got around half a million votes when I contested in Lok Sabha elections last year. Yogendra Yadav is today seen as the face of the Haryana farmers, charisma is something which is built. Political obituaries have been written for Anna Hazare, for Arvind Kejriwal who has been iconised by all of us in AAP and even for Rahul Gandhi. This is the job of editorial teams. We have also read about how the Narendra Modi government has been cornered on the land acquisition bill by Anna and Rahul Gandhi.

Politics is a long process and I have participated in many movements including the Jayaprakash Narayan movement, the anti-Emergency campaign and seen many ups and downs of the Janata Dal. We are living in the times of pragmatism and opportunism, anyone who is driven by values and principles will be considered outdated. It is about being driven by deeper conviction and calculation of loss and wins.

While the AAP leadership can be seen as gainers as they have a five-year mandate for governance, they are also losers, as they have lost the road-map. We (the Swaraj Samvad team) are the real winners here as we have an all India instrument to forge and the freedom of thinking beyond Delhi.

It is time for mobilising the farmers in rural India and in urban cities; it is the youth, students and women who are not getting their due attention.

What role do you see for the Swaraj Samvad team in Delhi?

The Swaraj Samvad sees itself in the role of a watchdog in Delhi; we have been carrying out audits of the Modi government and now we will do social audits and see how the governance is working. For instance, the high court’s directions on the appointment of Lokpals which could not be initiated as the AAP was in minority in 2013; Now it has been in power for nearly two months but the Delhi government is yet to initiate on the directives. There are definitive expectations of the people of Delhi which need to be met.

So how soon can we expect an announcement of a new political outfit led by the expelled members?

While the group in Delhi will certainly enjoy security and privilege of power we have chosen to move ahead for a wider dialogue across the country.

There are at least 30 Swaraj Samwads planned over the next couple of months, in states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, among others; one is planned in Delhi in July as well.

A students' youth convention is being organised in Allahabad in May which is to address the rising disenchantment with the state civil services.

We are giving ourselves at least six months to see if we are mature enough, have sufficient numbers have a social identity, to take the step of forming a political party and contesting elections.

How do you see the public spat over the show cause notice served to you and other expelled leaders?

We have given our explanation, and it is for the AAP leadership to clear its public image which has been marred by the manner in which we have been expelled.

Two of the complainants were part of the inquiry committee. The statements given and recently, the threats made by AAP leaders to destroy Prashant Bhushan, and on Wednesday the manner in which Ashutosh has commented about the suicide incident, are bringing to the fore the real face of these leaders.

Itni unki (some AAP leaders) umar nahi hai jitne saal mujhe politics karte huan ho gaye hai (I have been in politics longer than the age of most AAP leaders). There is a need for restraint and we are exercising it as we avoid making comments on former friends who have kicked us in the face. I can say that we have nurtured this party as our own plant, we will not want to destroy it, so we will be restrained.