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New Delhi, Aug 28: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) co-founding leader Kumar Vishwas, known for his fierce and right-leaning rhetoric, claims that the party needs his ‘nationalist’ voice to woo the youth and middle class section of the population. Vishwas is among the few members of AAP who are right-of-centre in terms of political ideology. The poet-cum-politician hasn’t refrained from asserting his conservative nationalistic credentials on a number of occasions. Analysts sometimes claim that it is due to Kumar Vishwas that AAP succeeds in presenting an alternative image among the majoritarian community, who do not view it among those political outfits who have earned the tag of ‘minority appeasers’. On a number of occasions, Vishwas has contradicted his senior party leaders on issues ranging from plebiscite in Kashmir to raising of seditious slogans in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
While speaking to Firstpost, Kumar Vishwas said that his nationalistic image benefitted the party in Delhi Assembly elections, and claimed that many of the ‘nationalistic voters’ from Gandhinagar, the erstwhile constituency of BJP veteran Dr Harshvardhan, came out in support of AAP despite Dr Kiran Bedi being fielded by BJP from the seat. Vishwas further stated that nationalism for him is uncompromisable issue, whether in “political or personal” life. (ALSO READ: AAP leader Kumar Vishwas pens open letter to Mehbooba Mufti: ‘Now PDP considers Afzal Guru a terrorist’)
“Party thinks my nationalist image works among youth and the middle class population. This belief proved to be true during the second Delhi assembly elections,” Vishwas said. “I addressed against Kiran Bedi’s constituency was right at the crossing of Dr Harshvardhan’s house and the nationalist voters came out to vote for AAP,” he added, during the interview with Firstpost.
Kumar Vishwas also highlighted his ideological point of difference with BJP. He cited one of the slogans which is recited by the activists of BJP-RSS, which reads as follows: ‘Prabho Shaktimaan Hindu Rashtrang Bhoota’. Vishwas claims that he has only one problem with this slogan. He believes that the word ‘Hindu’ should be replaced by ‘Hind’. This would remove the communal connotations attached with the mantra and allow people irrespective of caste, creed, religion to recite it.
Kumar Vishwas first displayed his right-wing credentials when he openly condemned the remarks of the then senior leader of Prashant Bhushan who had opined that plebiscite in Kashmir is the only solution to end the crisis. This difference from the party stance was once again exhibited by Vishwas during the JNU controversy, when he demanded strict action against all those involved rather than. “GOI (Government of India) should take stern action against these anti-national minds,” Vishwas had said.
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