Medha Patkar:  Nagpur December 1, 2010

 

 

 

I hope, Medha would allow us to support her!
Friends, no dilemma can be greater than to decide whether to support your colleague of more than two decades for doing what you always wanted her/him to do or not: we always wanted Medha Patkar to stand election, but looking at the votes we got, she was always against electoral politics, but, finally, as she agreed this time, unfortunately, we find ourselves on different ground! While, we still supports her stand on: alternative development; globilisation and privatization, her party, AAP’, stands in stark difference with us on this.
We never had any dilemma on supporting her; not even, when she had taken her fight against Sardar Sarovar to the level of deciding to sacrifice her life.
I know Medha personally; there is no match in AAP, to her personality, political standing, credibility,  commitment, experience and sacrifice.  I have fought many battles with her since 1990 as a co-activist and learnt a lot from her. She is the fighter, and, the only one in the people’s movements, having national standing; who shook the national conscience in the decade of 1990, when she made a fight against Sardar Sarovar  a symbol of alternative development, much before Arvind Kejriwal even entered the public life. For the first time, in the Indian history, after Gandhi and Lohiya, she established the concept of ‘Alternative Development.’ She was the one who first raised the issue of the transfer of KG basin to Reliance; always opposed privatization and globilisation.  She is the one to first challenge Narendra Modi on SSP and got bashing in Gujrat.
But, suddenly, when all the policy of so called development; globilisation; privatization had last its credibility before Aam-Admi, and it was time for Medha to use her credibility to launch nationwide agitation, on this, with people’ movement across the nation , the Aam Party sprung from people’ movement (?)  to provide it all the legitimacy by citing ‘corruption’ as the main issue.
We know many good people like Jaypal Reddy in Congress, but we could never support him as a Congress candidate. Before we decide to support her, she will have to make her party’s stand clear on: development; globilisation and privatization. When our grassroot activists like Fagram, Mangal and Rajendra are asking about Medha’s stand on this, we had no answer.
Winning a losing has been always more important than the principal we stand for; this is what battle against SSP dam taught  me.
I am still hopeful, Medha will come out and make her stand clear to me and many grasroot activists lik  Fagram, Mangal and Rajendra  and  thereby, allow them  to support her.  I can’t imagine us not supporting Medha Patkar.
Anurag Modi
Samjwadi Jan Parishad

 

Enhanced by Zemanta