Opposition youth wings come together to launch nationwide agitation against Modi govt

In a rare show of unity, the youth wings of seven Opposition parties have come together to launch a nationwide agitation against the Narendra Modi government on unemployment, price rise, agrarian crisis and issues related to the young .

A preliminary meeting of the new grouping was held on Friday and attended by the representatives of the Youth Congress, Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), All India Youth Federation (AIYF) and the All India Youth League (AIYL) apart from the youth wings of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Samajwadi Party and the Indian Union Muslim League.

The DYFI, AIYF and AIYL are youth wings of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India and the Forward Bloc respectively.

“Today, our nation stands on lies and religious insecurities presented by the ruling government, the consequence of which have led to an agitation among well qualified yet unemployed youth, farmers’ suicides, and an increase in caste and religious violence. It is the need of the hour that we unite in solidarity and fight this anti-national and anti-humane government,” Youth Congress president Keshav Chand Yadav said.

His colleague and Youth Congress spokesperson Amrish Ranjan Pandey echoed his views.

“This is precisely the reason for Youth Congress to unite with other secular political parties. Our aim and efforts are to stop communal violence and to bring peace and harmony to the society,” he said.

“The agenda was to combat the right-wing forces and save the country. It was discussed and decided in principle that the Opposition stands united,” Pandey added.

The youth wings will also hit the streets to protest the Rafale aircraft deal, bank frauds and the escape of Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi from the country.

“We are united for a cause and not for applause. We will show the power of youth in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections,” said NCP youth wing president Dhiraj Sharma.

The parent organisations of the seven parties have already joined hands against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in and outside Parliament.

The young leaders have decided to meet again on September 3 to give a final shape to a joint action plan against the Modi government.

Political observers say it is important for these youth organisations to bury their local differences and come together on one platform with a common agenda.

“The message is clear. They want to show that the unity efforts are not limited to the parent parties but have also percolated down to the frontal organisations,” said political analyst Ashish Ranjan of Ashoka University.

He said it is imperative for these youth wings to formulate a common agenda to target the large chunk of the youth population of this country, and agitate on state and national issues as well. “Only that can ensure their campaign’s success.”

First Published: Aug 12, 2018 14:18 IST