Sisodia’s Remarks Trigger Political Storm in Panjab

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Panjab state in-charge Manish Sisodia has triggered a political storm over remarks he made during a workshop of the party’s women volunteers on 14 Aug. He said, the party should make efforts using saam (persuasion), daam (appeasement), dand (punishment) and bhed (exploiting weaknesses) to win the 2027 Panjab Assembly elections. Until this point, he was quoting from the ancient Hindu text Arthashastra (Treatise on Money) by Kautaliya aka Chanakya which outlines strategies for statecraft and diplomacy. Critics and political analysts associate these approaches with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), though neither the organization, nor the party have admitted to them. Sisodia went a few steps further when he asked the AAP cadre to deploy Sach (Truth), Jhoot (Lies), Sawal (Question), Jawab (Answer), Ladai (Fight), and Jhagda (Quarrel) to achieve their goals. This is a huge climbdown for AAP which was established in Nov 2012 to eradicate corruption and uphold transparency in government. While AAP has not been able to walk their talk, encouraging a change of values signals them eschewing democracy altogether. Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, AAP state unit president Aman Arora, and other senior leaders were present at the workshop. Opposition parties have condemned Sisodia’s statement as a blatant admission of intent to use unfair and unconstitutional means to retain power. Leader of Opposition, Indian National Congress' Partap Singh Bajwa said, 'Sisodia’s call to win the elections at any cost is a confession of intent to destroy democracy.' The BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal have written to the Election Commission of India demanding registration of a First Information Report against Sisodia. BJP state president Sunil Jakhar said, 'The AAP leader is openly advocating winning elections ‘by hook or by crook’, promoting undemocratic methods and violating laws. The remarks mock the values of peace, freedom and integrity and clearly indicate AAP’s intention to undermine the democratic process.' INC Panjab chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said, 'You can win over Panjabis with folded hands...but you can’t threaten and intimidate them.'