– Abdul Bari Masoud
New Delhi, Nov. 26: The Socialist Party (India) announced on Saturday that it will extend support to the Congress-led 28-party alliance called INDIA in the coming general election in 2024. At a meeting organized at Rajendra Bhawan here to discuss the issues concerning the country, the party also condemned the Israeli aggression on Gaza and adopted a resolution expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people. The theme of the meeting was ‘Save Constitution, Save Democracy,’ ‘Save Secularism, Defeat Communal Alliance,’ and ‘Support INDIA Alliance.’
Speakers at the meeting included Chief Congressman Deepak Babaria, President of Delhi Congress Party Arvinder Singh Lovely, Congress leader Muhammad Hidayatullah, Former Independent M.P. Mohammad Adeeb, Former Madhya Pradesh MLA Dr. Sunilam, Swaraj India leader Ajit Jha, Leader of Internationalist Democratic Party of J&K, I.D. Khajuria, Socialist Intellectual Vijay Pratap, President of Muslim Youth League Asif Ansari, Senior Supreme Court Advocate Anil Nauriya, Community Leader Nargis Khan, and President of Socialist Mahila Sabha Dr. Shuchita Kumar were among those who spoke at the gathering.
They came down heavily on the Modi government and ruling BJP, saying they pushed the country in a backward direction and weakened the social fabric for their petty political gain.
The meeting declared the party’s unilateral support for INDIA alliance for the next Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
Deepak Babaria praised the socialist ideals of justice and equality.
Former MP Mohammad Adeeb said Congress should stand up for the rights of Muslims when any injustice is done to them. It is unfortunate Congress did not demonstrate its will and succumbed to the pressure of communal politics, he said.
A.S. Lovely said Rahul Gandhi was the only political figure challenging the RSS. According to Anil Nauriya, the judiciary was weakened today and wasn’t standing up for what it ought to. He also took the issue with the Election Commission’s functioning. While Ajit Jha said BJP chooses the names of freedom fighters as its emblems because it is aware that Golwalkar and Savarkar will not win them any votes.
A leader from Jammu, ID Khajuria, highlighted the plight of Jammu and Kashmir, saying that the people in J&K have been experiencing injustices since Independence, as they are currently being experienced by people in India. Elections have not taken place in J&K since Article 370 was undemocratically abolished in 2019.
Noted activist Vijay Pratap said people should carefully review their voter list and make sure that their names are there.
As the main speaker, Sunilam said people came to attend the meeting because they wanted security, which is under threat under the BJP rule.
Expressing solidarity with the people of Palestine, in particular with the war-ravaged Gaza people, Sunilam moved a resolution declaring that the people of India are with the people of Palestine, as they have traditionally been, in the current war between Israel and Hamas. The meeting also condemned Israeli aggression and demanded that India play an active role in the liberation of Palestine, as it was a long-standing policy.
Those responsible for organizing today’s gathering share Mahatma Gandhi’s commitment to Hindu-Muslim unity, Sunilam said. He said that support for INDIA was unconditional, but INDIA alliance should also guarantee the implementation of Minimum support price, the scrapping of Labour Codes and security of minorities.
Manjoo Mohan, vice president of SP(I), presided over the meeting. The event was organized by Delhi Socialist Party (India) President Syed Tahseen Ahmad, assisted by Mohammad Chand and Rizwan Khan.
