Uttarakhand : One person’s arbitrariness in AAP, impossible to work in entire country with single model; Welcome to Agneepath – said Ajay Kothiyal
Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) chief ministerial candidate Col Ajay Kothiyal (retd) joined the BJP at his state party headquarters last month after losing the Uttarakhand assembly elections held earlier this year. Joining the BJP, he told that it was his wrong and emotional decision to join the party led by Arvind Kejriwal.
Aam Aadmi Party failed to win even a single seat in this assembly election. The Aam Aadmi Party got only 3.31 percent votes from Uttarakhand in this election, with this the party stood fourth in the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly. AAP’s chief ministerial candidate Kothiyal contested from Gangotri assembly constituency and could get only 6,161 votes and got his deposit forfeited. In an interview to The Indian Express, he told how an ex-serviceman and mountaineering leader spoke about his decision to leave the Aam Aadmi Party and join the BJP and his views on the Agneepath scheme.
Liked AAP style in the beginning
Ajay Kothiyal said, “I never had too many desires and I just wanted to work based on my experience. Before joining politics, I read you carefully and held many meetings. I liked the working style of Aam Aadmi Party during this period. I met Raghav Chadha (AAP leader) and Dinesh Mohaniya (AAP MLA) and they asked me to meet Arvind Kejriwal as I was ready to join the party.
Disappointed to know the reality of the party
Initially, I really liked how the party works. But gradually when I started realizing that he was trying to campaign here according to his insistence, I felt bad. Whenever I gave a suggestion based on input, he used to reject it. This is because the party’s state in-charge was confident that the formulas adopted for the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi would be successful in Uttarakhand as well. That’s why he never listened to anyone else. We also had inputs that the manifesto was not pleasing to the voters but they did not change anything. He didn’t try to create a single set-up and just focused on posters and social media campaigns.
AAP were spreading his propaganda in my name
He didn’t talk about schools. He tried to show here just through video, what he did in Delhi. Later, he promised free pilgrimage for senior citizens in the state, turning to ‘Hindutva’. It was not my idea but still I had to promote it. I also had a dispute with the candidates in the fray. About a month before the elections, I almost stopped talking to the party leadership. I was having regular arguments. But for the campaign I said all was well.
For what reason did you join BJP, do you see your future here?
It is a well-known fact that I was associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since I was in the Army. The Sangh encouraged me during the renovation of Kedarnath Dham when I was the principal of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) and running the Youth Foundation Camp. The work culture of BJP is also very similar to the working style of Indian Army. Maybe because of all these things I used to like BJP. I want to work here as a normal party worker to strengthen the progressive society. What I used to do earlier also I can do ten times more because now I am with the ruling party. Whatever responsibility the party gives me, I will take it.
A senior AAP leader from the state said that by joining the BJP, you proved his suspicions right. He also suggested that BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya was behind AAP’s decision in which you left the Aam Aadmi Party and joined the saffron party?
Responding to this question, Kothiyal said, yes, I had spoken to Kailash Vijayvargiya before joining BJP. After the elections he once asked Bhupesh Upadhyay (former state working president of AAP, who had joined BJP) why he took me to AAP. When Bhupesh told me I asked him to speak to Kailash Vijayvargiya as I wanted to join the saffron party. He accepted immediately. I soon joined BJP along with Bhupesh Upadhyay.
On the day AAP joined BJP, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami said that this is the beginning of the end of ‘AAP’ in the country. do you agree?
I completely agree with Dhami ji. AAP prepared for three states Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa in 2022. They conquered Punjab but the leaders sent here completely destroyed its organization in Uttarakhand. The party will now go to Himachal Pradesh which is also a hill state and the results of Uttarakhand will leave an impact there as well. The party has a one person decision making policy. It has only one model and is expected to work across the country. it’s not possible.
As an ex-serviceman, what is your opinion about the Agneepath scheme?
Responding to this question, Kothiyal said, “My thoughts on this scheme are based on my 28 years of experience in the army, my interactions with the society and the ‘Youth Foundation Trust’ which trains youth to join the army.” If we talk about national security, we are surrounded by Pakistan in the west, China in the north, Bangladesh and Myanmar in the east and Sri Lanka in the south. In view of this we need to modify our army, which means trained manpower and effective equipment. After the Second World War, the jawans used to come in the reserve list after serving for seven years. It was without any pension. This lasted till 1977. Even then people joined the army without any additional benefit.
Soldier does not make decisions, he implements the decisions taken
Physical fitness is very important to fight a war and if the age profile of the soldiers is reduced then the army will become smaller. Many people are talking about the experience factor. Let me tell you that Captain Vikram Batra, who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously, spent only three and a half years in the army. Second Lieutenant Arun Khetrapal (a recipient of the Param Vir Chakra) had spent just six months in the Army. Hero of Uttarakhand, Jaswant Singh Rawat of Garhwal Rifles (posthumously awarded Maha Vir Chakra) had served just three and a half years. From all these examples and many other examples, we can say that even though experience certainly matters, there are many other factors that cannot be ignored. The experience factor is more important for the leader. A soldier is not the decision maker in war but the one who enforces the decisions and orders. Agniveer will be the one who will be led. Primarily we are not looking at Agniveer as a leader but in future 25 percent of those Agniveers will become leaders as well.