Kanhaiya Kumar can get the Congress some traction but what next?
Kanhaiya Kumar, former JNUSU president, can be an asset but why is the Congress busy collecting assets when it has no strategy to use them. Kanhaiya’s move from the CPI to the Congress indicates that Bihar’s Leningrad is getting bored with just slogans and wants more. Of what, even Kanhaiya won’t know.
With the Congress woefully short on motormouth Hindi speakers ahead of the Uttar Pradesh elections and the larger 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Kanhaiya Kumar looks like a gain for the Congress which he joined in the presence of Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday. Gujarat Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mewani, who was with Kanhaiya, voiced his support for the Congress agenda though he did not formally join it citing Assembly rules since he is an independent MLA. Kanhaiya is a good speaker and a livewire who can keep people entertained and hold his own against hectoring by either the centrists or by the right. That too with elan and good humour to bat away attacks. There are many good YouTube videos as evidence, one just needs to do a cursory search.
Kanhaiya can do all this in Hindi, and English, without missing a beat or a wink or being caught in unsure pauses that several Congress speakers resort to, Rahul Gandhi included, and are often parodied by the media for their inability to speak the language and what-not. If Rahul Gandhi is a load and shoot rifle, Kanhaiya is the KK-47 and therein lies the rub because like all assault rifles, can the Congress suffer the heat a speaker like Kanhaiya can generate?
As well-documented, Kanhaiya was a Communist Party of India member and had been president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union on the ticket of the CPI’s student wing. He had also contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election for the CPI from Begusarai, Bihar’s so-called Leningrad, and lost to Giriraj Singh of the BJP, the original go-to-Pakistan man.
This is possibly where Kanhaiya realised that revolutionary slogans were fine to enthuse the youth, both rural and urban, and the poor, predominantly rural, but power was not for the taking so easily for the CPI (seen as a Bhumihar party) anymore. Unlike the CPI and its allies, the ultra-left CPIML Liberation won 5 seats in the Bihar elections. Possibly, the masses of Bihar didn’t trust their own boy, now a big Delhi man spouting slogans of aazadi for everyone, including Kashmiris.
This is what will weigh him down, and by extension, the Congress. The pre-spring 2016 sloganeering in JNU of aazadi is still the smallest thorn that can be used to prick the otherwise impregnable wall of rhetoric and common sense that Kanhaiya can raise in a debate. The BJP has had a measure of him in Bihar and he can be easily read by the party there. That’s the right-wing point against him.
The centrist remembers that Kanhaiya kept his distance when the dadis of Shaheen Bagh put out quilts and shamianas to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act-NRC-NPR. Unlike his comrades from JNU who came and kept a low-profile, Kanhaiya has almost no profile when Shaheen Bagh stood out as an example of citizens holding the State to account for being crass and despotic, even when the media sided against them. Further, Umar Khalid still continues to be in prison under the draconian UAPA but Kanhaiya has largely kept quiet.
The silence on his part is emblematic of the way the Left has of coming apart like the Titanic after hitting the iceberg of caste and privilege. The original Communist Party, the CPI, formed in 1925, had lost its spunk post-1950 after it toed the Soviet Union line not to disturb the Congress. What else could it do as the global fountainhead of Communism was not keen on antagonizing Nehru and his daughter?
Unhappy with this line, the alleged hotheads formed the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) as the differences between the Soviets under Khrushchev and China under Mao Zedong, who had the same big ideas as the now-dead Stalin, divided the communist world. The Marxists, meaning the CPM, as the Communists (i.e. the CPI) would derisively call the newer and more vibrant party, would see another split, leading to the birth of the ultra-left Marxist Leninists.
The CPIML would turn away from parliamentary democracy and take up arms, beginning in Naxalbari in 1967. The State, under Indira Gandhi, cracked down hard and destroyed that violent left turn with far more violent suppression of human rights. Many of those killed in pursuit of spring thunder were young men and women high on the ideas of revolution and low on the realities of the rural hinterland, policing and the generous use of extra-legal force. For a cinematic depiction, check this trailer.
So why is the Congress party bent upon getting Kanhaiya to join it. When his mere presence can become a huge negative? The Congress is stumbling from one crisis to another; just when the Punjab front was healing, Navjot Singh Sidhu ripped open a new fracture by quitting as PPCC chief.
The answer possibly lies in the fact that Kanhaiya is a champion at raising the esprit de corps among the Congress grassroots, which needs tending and protecting from the harsh lure of money and influence that the other side offers.
As someone said on social media, the Congress POV on the Ram Mandir doesn’t leave it much to hope for in terms of regaining Muslim votes, but Kanhaiya’s avowed aazadi stance could help swing a few of them, not to speak of Dalit votes pan-India, for among the many things the aazadi slogan seeks liberation from is Manu-wad.
It is significant that both Kanhaiya and Jignesh Mevani are turning away from the CPI and the CPM, respectively. The waning of the Communist-Marxist parties across the Hindi heartland, with the RSS-led BMS snatching away even its trade union constituency, the sign of the times is dispiriting for the mainstream Left.
It would be amusing to see Kanhaiya Kumar and Congress leaders like P. Chidambaram share a table at a discussion. The hope that verbal flourish can give the Congress a fighting chance for more seats in the Lok Sabha is worth a gamble with avowed leftists, to overcome the charge of soft Hindutva.
The Congress, it has been said so many times, encompasses both the left and the right. But can the centre hold? Especially when dissent is eating it away from the inside.
Then, there’s always the Trinamool Congress for Kanhaiya
The government has listed five new ones and one to amend the contentious Waqf law out of 15 bills for the winter session of Parliament. The session will kick off on November 25 and conclude on December 20.
The government has introduced five new bills, including the Coastal Shipping Bill, 2024, which aims to promote coasting trade and increase the participation of Indian-flagged vessels owned and operated by Indian citizens for both national security and commercial purposes.
Another significant legislation that will be introduced by the government is the Indian Ports Bill, 2024. This bill is designed to implement measures for the conservation of ports, enhance security, and manage pollution, ensuring compliance with India’s international obligations and statutory requirements.
Additionally, the government plans to introduce the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2024, which aims to meet India’s obligations under maritime treaties and support the development of Indian shipping while ensuring the efficient operation of the Indian mercantile marine in a way that serves national interests.
Pending legislation includes the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which is awaiting consideration and passage after the joint committee of both Houses submits its report to the Lok Sabha. The committee is expected to report by the end of the first week of the winter session.
Currently, there are eight bills, including the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, pending in the Lok Sabha, while two additional bills are in the Rajya Sabha.
Furthermore, the government has also listed the Punjab Courts (Amendment) Bill for introduction, consideration, and passage, which seeks to increase the pecuniary appellate jurisdiction of Delhi district courts from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.
The Merchant Shipping Bill, along with the Coastal Shipping Bill and the Indian Ports Bill, is slated for introduction and eventual passage.
International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant against Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu over war crimes
The court accused Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Gallant of crimes against humanity, including murder, persecution, inhumane acts, and the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) today issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The court accused Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Gallant of crimes against humanity, including murder, persecution, inhumane acts, and the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare. The leaders allegedly restricted essential supplies such as food, water, and medical aid to civilians in Gaza, resulting in severe humanitarian crises and deaths, including among children.
Last year in October, Israel had launched attacks on Gaza in retaliation for the surprise attack by Hamas. The Israel-Hamas war has led to the death of thousands of civilians, while lakhs have been displaced. The major infrastructures in Gaza, including hospitals and schools, were also destroyed as Israel vowed to wipe out Hamas.
The International Criminal Court stated that it found reasonable grounds to believe the accused intentionally targeted civilians and limited medical supplies, forcing unsafe medical procedures, which caused immense suffering. This ruling was based on the findings from at least October 8, 2023 until at least May 20, 2024.
The court remarked that it has assessed that there are reasonable grounds to believe that PM Netanyahu and Defence Minister Gallant bear criminal responsibility as civilian superiors for the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population of Gaza.
Furthermore, it also noted that the lack of food, water, electricity and fuel, and medical supplies created conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population in Gaza, leading to death of civilians, including children due to malnutrition and dehydration.
Additionally, the International Criminal Court dismissed two challenges by Israel against its jurisdiction in the situation in the State of Palestine.
Notably, Israel had contested the ICC’s jurisdiction, claiming it could not be exercised without Israel’s consent. Nonetheless, the Chamber ruled that the Court has jurisdiction based on Palestine’s territorial scope, including Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. It further noted that Israel’s objections were premature, as jurisdictional challenges under the Rome Statute can only be made after an arrest warrant is issued.
Reportedly, Israel had also requested a fresh notification regarding the investigation, started in 2021. Denying the request, the court stated that Israel had earlier declined to request a deferral, making additional notifications unnecessary.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday accorded a tax-free status to ‘The Sabarmati Report’ film, based on the train burning incident at Godhra in Gujarat in 2002, in the state.
The announcement was made after Chief Minister Adityanath attended the screening of Vikrant Massey and Raashii Khanna-starrer ‘The Sabarmati Report’ in Lucknow with the film’s cast.
Speaking to reporters, actor Vikrant Massey thanked the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister for making ‘The Sabarmati Report’ film tax-free in the state. “I want to thank Yogi Adityanath ji. This is an important film and I appeal to everyone to go and watch this film,” he said.
Chief Minister Adityanath along with many of his cabinet colleagues watched the film ‘The Sabarmati Report’ under a special screening at a cinema hall in the capital, said a spokesperson of the state government.
Several people associated with the film unit were also present on the occasion. Later the chief minister announced to make this film tax-free in UP.
The BJP-ruled states have been praising the makers of The Sabarmati Report, claiming the team has tried to bring out this truth in front of the people of the country through the film.
The saffron party is appealing to people to watch this film and try to get closer to the truth of Godhra.
Uttar Pradesh becomes the sixth BJP-ruled state after Haryana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat to declare lead actors Vikrant Massey and Raashii Khanna’s film tax-free.
Adityanath said along with identifying the faces of those who are conspiring against the country for political gains, there is also a need to expose them. The film team has discharged its responsibilities to expose the truth, he said, adding an attempt has been made to bring the real truth in front of the country in a big way through the film.
The Sabarmati Report is said to be based on the incident of setting fire to a train full of ‘karsevaks’ in Godhra on February 27, 2002, killing 90 devotees. After this incident, communal riots broke out in Gujarat. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have also praised this film.
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