'The Kerala BJP leadership is doing the job of clerical staff. What the boss orders, they just follow them.'
People leaving the Congress or the CPI-M or AAP and joining the BJP is not news these days.
But a BJP leader leaving the party and joining the Congress is definitely NEWS.
That's why Sandeep G Varier, a BJP leader for the last two decades joining the Congress, is making headlines in Kerala.
"Just think what would have become of this country in the last 10 years if there was no Congress, if there was no Opposition... I would say the Congress was the safety valve for Indian democracy in the last ten years!," 38-year-old Sandeep Varier tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier (no relation).
Why did you join the BJP? What attracted you about the party?
In the post-liberalisation period, the country was facing so many issues, and there was a strong sentiment in India that the BJP would bring about a change and take India forward.
The trio of Vajpayee, Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were quite popular among the young of India at that time.
I too believed that the BJP could bring about a change in India.
That was what attracted me to the BJP.
After leaving the party, you said you didn't want to be a part of the politics of hatred and divisive politics practised by the BJP.
But you used the same language when you were with the party.
When did you start feeling that what the party practised was not right?
When I was the genuine spokesperson of the BJP, I had to follow the narrative built by the party.
But every time, I started speaking from my heart, the BJP started censoring me.
The state BJP?
Yes, the state leadership. There was a hatred campaign in Kerala about halal food initiated by the state BJP. It was a divisive campaign that abused a section of society.
For example, they said the restaurants owned a particular community sold halal food after spitting on it.
I was born in Malappuram district, I have many Muslim friends, and I grew up with them.
I felt the hatred campaign didn't make any sense, and it was not right to alienate anyone from society.
So, I wrote on Facebook that Hindus, Christians and Muslims cannot live together by propagating hatred, and that ours was a pluralistic society. I wrote that there should be an environment of harmony because we could not ban anyone from society.
A restaurant owned by a Hindu does not cater only to Hindus. Similarly, a restaurant owned by a Muslim is not for Muslims alone. Nobody asks your religion when you enter a restaurant.
I never spoke against the BJP or the leadership or their campaign in my post. I only said that ours was a pluralistic society, and we had no right to alienate anyone based on religion.
How did your party respond to your Facebook post?
I was bullied by the hardliners. They forced me to withdraw the Facebook post. And I had to apologise.
Bullied in what way?
By the state leadership and also on social media.
I was banned from talking to the media for one whole year.
My view was that since Kerala society is very liberal, secular and progressive, you cannot follow the same politics you follow in north India.
You go to any street in Kerala, you will find a Hindu, Christian and a Muslim living there. Unlike in north India, there is no ghettoisation of religious communities here.
So, my opinion was that the BJP in Kerala should follow a more secular way of politics, as a party that is accessible to minorities also.
Is it not because the BJP wanted to stand out as a party that unites the Hindus and be different from the Congress or the Communist parties that they follow this kind of politics in Kerala?
That was my basic problem. Why do you want to use religion in your politics?
You can speak about corruption, you can speak about economic policies, you can speak about educational policies, you can speak about the problems youth face in Kerala... When there are so many issues to talk about, why bring in religion to politics?
But then that's the politics of the BJP...
Yes, that is the problem. I wanted the party to talk about the problems of common people. I felt only then the people of Kerala will agree with you.
You should speak politics every day in Kerala as the people of Kerala are highly politicised. They are highly intelligent, and you just cannot fool them.
They will not accept you when every time you open your mouth, it is to spread hatred.
What the Kerala BJP got wrong was they copy-pasted from north India.
Not just in Kerala, in South India also, people will not accept this kind of divisive politics and the politics of hatred especially in the name of food, dress, etc.
But if you speak genuine politics, they will accept you.
Do you feel that is the reason why the BJP has not been able to win seats in Kerala though the vote share has been increasing?
The BJP had a better position in 2014 and the NDA got one member elected to the Lok Sabha from Kerala. There was one from Lakshadweep also.
And both were from the minority community.
At that time, the BJP leader was the honourable Goa Governor Sreedharan Pillai Sir, and he was the one and only secular face of the BJP in Kerala. But he was bullied by the current leadership.
Before this election, they were bullying Christians in Kerala describing them as people who came from some other planet to invade their territory.
But right now, they are indulging in a drama by going to the houses of Christians and giving them cakes. I know that they have no genuine love for the Christians.
When did you start feeling frustrated with the BJP?
My kind of politics is to do something good for the people, involving every member of society.
Instead, every morning, you open your mouth to spew venom at a community.
The central BJP is ignorant of Kerala politics. The Kerala BJP leadership is doing the job of clerical staff. What the boss orders, they just follow them.
You listen to Mann Ki Baat, take a photo and upload on social media and that's the BJP politics while other political parties visit the houses of people.
But they say that you left the party because you were denied a ticket in Palakkad...
It is not true. I never claimed a ticket for Palakkad or Wayanad.
In fact, I had told the party leader K Surendran that if the BJP wanted to win the election, Sobha Surendran should stand from Palakkad. If not her, Surendran himself should stand from Palakad.
I don't know how the central leadership looked at the assembly by-election. They chose someone (Krishnakumar) who had lost the Lok Sabha election four months ago.
How can you go and tell people, you defeated me four months back for the Lok Sabha but make me win now to the assembly? What logic do you see in this? Is it Chanakya tantra?
Why did you decide to join the Congress?
I want the freedom to speak. I need a platform where democratic values are honoured. I want a platform where secular values are accepted. I thought the Congress will give me such a platform.
Did you contact the Congress, or did they approach you?
I can't reveal the details. Maybe later on in life, when I write my autobiography, I will talk about it!
The criticism against the Kerala state Congress party is that it is a divided house with too many leaders... Do you think you will feel frustrated there too?
The Congress is the grand old party of India. In my opinion, the party gives value to every opinion. The party has a very large pool of leaders, and the party gives them the freedom to air their opinion.
The basic right of a human being is the freedom to speak, and that is respected in the Congress.
If I wanted power or any benefits, I could have joined the CPI-M.
But I wanted to join the party that has democratic and nationalistic values, and I felt the Congress was the best option for me.
I don't want to be a part of an autocratic set-up. I want to be a part of a democratic set-up which gives you the freedom to speak.
How do you see Rahul Gandhi as a leader because he has been the favourite whipping boy of the BJP? Do you think he has emerged stronger after the Bharat Jodo Yatra?
Definitely. I believe every democracy needs a strong Opposition. Otherwise, it will turn to autocracy.
What happened in India from 2014 to 2024 was that India was slowly becoming an autocratic society.
There was no Opposition and legislation was coming without any proper discussion. Minorities were made to think that they were not part of this country.
But after the Bharat Jodo Yatra, India got the hope that there was someone who could question the autocratic government system in India.
After the yatra, Rahul Gandhi has emerged as a popular leader and an acceptable figure for all the sections of India.
I know personally how the system in the BJP works 24x7 to ridicule, humiliate and finish Rahul Gandhi from politics.
If anybody else was in Rahul Gandhi's place, he should have left much earlier. But this man worked continuously and tirelessly against the autocratic system and spoke for democratic values.
That's why lakhs of people walked with him during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
People were walking with him unlike the autocratic leader who no one can approach.
Rahul brings hope of changing India.
How did the state Congress accept you?
I did not expect this kind of a unanimous welcome from them. Thousands of Congress workers were standing to receive me which I did not expect because of my past politics.
It was a surprise for me.
It was also a surprise for me when I went to meet Panakat Thangal, he was waiting for me with P K Kunjalikutty. The love and affection I got there really touched my heart.
I am really grateful for them for accepting me and taking me as a brother in 24 hours.
Now, I am very happy.
Do you regret your time with the BJP?
I don't regret. In the last 20 years, I got a platform to serve the people, and I am happy for that opportunity.
But I am relieved now. Not just me but my family too. The biggest trauma for my family was, the BJP social media team started abusing my 84-year-old father who is an army veteran having fought three wars.
They asked my father, are you sure he is your son?
My wife was body shamed. What wrong has my wife done to receive such a treatment? She is not in politics.
I can never accept this kind of politics.
I would say they forced me to leave the BJP.
I want to tell them, like the famous saying 'Ningalenne Communistaki (You made me a Communist)] in Malayalam, I would say, 'Ningalenne Congress aaki! (You made me a Congressman!)'
They now say that if one Sandeep goes, hundred Sandeeps will come. Let hundred Sandeeps join the BJP. I don't have any problem with that. But I will say, please don't bully those Sandeeps.
I don't believe in a BJP-mukt Bharat because I believe that there should be good BJP, good CPM, good Congress for democracy to strive.
Just think what would have become of this country in the last 10 years if there was no Congress, if there was no Opposition...
I would say the Congress was the safety valve for Indian democracy in the last ten years!
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
