Modi Meter
'It's not about cutting ties, but about moving on': Priyanka Chaturvedi speaks about her difficult decision to quit Congress party after 10 years
Alka DhupkarAlka Dhupkar / Updated: Apr 22, 2019, 10:41 IST
Priyanka Chaturvedi (Photo by Satish Malavade)
Priyanka Chaturvedi, Politician
Hurt by her former party, Priyanka Chaturvedi says her secular and liberal values are not going anywhere as she moves from being a Congress spokesperson to a Shiv Sena campaigner.
Priyanka Chaturvedi, 40, former national spokesperson of Congress, has recently joined the Shiv Sena. She speaks to Mumbai Mirror about her difficult decision to quit the party she served for 10 years and how she plans to merge her ideology with that of the party she once criticised.
From a national party to a regional party - why Shiv Sena?
Mumbai is a melting pot of various cultures. People come from various states and make this their home. My parents migrated here from Uttar Pradesh for better opportunities. This city has lived up to all my dreams. My personality has been greatly moulded by Mumbai. I feel that a political party which represents the values of Mumbai is Shiv Sena. When I thought of leaving a national political party I remembered how I began my public life. The 26/11 terror attacks moved me as a Mumbaikar. I realised I needed to give back to the city which had given me so much. Now, I have returned to the city.
But what about your ideology and that of Shiv Sena? Don't you see any contradictions?
Of course there are contradictions. The contradictions were there in the Congress party too. We have to see how a political party evolves as well. Now you have a political party which is guided by 28-yearold Aaditya Thackeray along with Uddhavji. He is talking about climate change, environment and plastic ban. He is talking about the core issues that matter to every Indian. Either I can be pulled back by the past or start a new future ahead.
Does that mean you are distancing yourself from Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sena and are associating yourself with Aaditya's Shiv Sena?
No, I am not suggesting a break from the past and a continuity of the future. When Balasaheb Thackeray passed away, millions of Mumbaikars came out on the streets of Mumbai. They supported him and had a sense of respect for him, which even I did.
The point is, we have to look at the core agenda where we are both aligned – it's about Mumbai and Maharashtra.
In the past, you have criticised Shiv Sena for hooliganism…
That doesn't change. I have stood for issues and I will continue to believe in them. I could have gone back and deleted earlier tweets. I am not ashamed by what I have spoken in the past.
Why are you not talking about riots and Shrikrishna commission report?
Absolutely. There had been certain incidents, sad moments in Mumbai's history, which no one can do away with. My point is, the implementation of these commissions' reports could have been done by other governments too over the years.
How are you going to stick to your ideology?
(Laughs) My progressive, secular, liberal values are not going anywhere. They will continue. Nobody changes their personality. These are the core points I have grown up with. All that I have spoken in the past 10 years is in the public domain.
Who was instrumental in getting you on board in the Sena?
Aaditya and I have been friends for a long time. When he introduced the plastic ban, I commended him highly, and also his desire to bring Mumbai's vibrant nightlife back. I have seen him grow politically and voice the aspirations of the youth. He kept telling me that he would like me to see me represent one of Mumbai's constituencies. I did ask Congress for a ticket from Mumbai North West, as I had started my Youth Congress work from there. But it did not happen. I had voiced my desire. I am still hopeful that I will get a chance to represent Mumbai in parliament in the future.
Are you going to campaign for BJP? Are you going to meet Amit Shah-Narendra Modi considering the alliance?
No, there is no such discussion at this point. I will be campaigning for Shiv Sena candidates and I am going to engage in youth dialogues, the townhall meetings led by Aadityaji.
You had an important voice in Congress party. What went wrong? People are saying how is it possible that you joined Shiv Sena in just 48 hours?
Let me tell you, this did not happen in 48 hours, this has been brewing since September. September is when I went to Mathura for my party's press conference where a lot of nonsense was spoken about me. I took objection to it. A woman takes her integrity, her dignity and her respect in whichever workspace she wants to work in. My party was good enough to have suspended those people. But they were reinstated in just six months, because of political influence.
When the suspension was revoked, it was unfortunate to say that I went public. I spoke within the party first. It may be not the party's priority for obvious reasons. But for me it was a question about my dignity, my honour, my respect and most importantly my family. They have stood like a rock behind me when politics was considered a taboo for women.
(Tearing up) Coming from a non-political background, it has not been an easy journey for me. Anyone who is suggesting that this is political opportunism should have egg on their face.
Did you speak to Rahul or Priyanka Gandhi?
Of course. Rahulji was kind enough. My immense respect for all the political leaders who helped me grow, who held my hands when I was a nobody, will not just vanish. I told him how I felt, and he understood. I spoke to Priyankaji too. But I felt that at that point in time, what had become the most important factor for me, was somehow not being understood by them. If an important voice in the national forum is not being heard within the party, then there is a problem. When I had given my blood and sweat to the party, the response should have matched.
We can see how much it hurts you to talk about quitting Congress.
I have given most productive 10 years of my life to the party. I had started working for the party when it was at its lowest. My younger child was just two years old then. Now I am being called over-ambitious. Let me tell you, if I was mindlessly ambitious I would have done anything and everything. I am driven by emotion. If I was blindsided by my ambition, then I wouldn't be feeling this way. It is not about the cutting of ties. But life is about moving on.
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