Mumbai, Oct 13 (IANS) Former Shiv Sena-UBT leader Anand Dubey on Tuesday urged the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to pursue what he called positive politics, support Indian industrialists over foreign entrepreneurs and publicly congratulate Captain Smit Machchhar for his bravery.
Speaking to IANS, Dubey said the Congress was an old party with sufficient resources to support its workers, but Rahul Gandhi should also focus on constructive politics.
“You (Rahul Gandhi) are one of the leading Opposition leaders; you should engage in positive politics. Please do not choose Elon Musk; please choose Indian industrialists,” the former Shiv Sena-UBT leader said, adding that keeping the country’s money within India would demonstrate commitment to the nation.
He also called on Rahul Gandhi to congratulate Captain Smit Machchhar, whom he described as a national hero.
“If your (Rahul Gandhi’s) conscience is awake, it is not too late to congratulate Captain Smit Machchhar. If you can do it, the nation will stand with you,” he said, adding that such a gesture would demonstrate Rahul Gandhi’s commitment to Indian politics.
Dubey said India, with a population of around 147 crore, had established itself as a country that could engage with major powers, including China, Russia and the United States, and see eye to eye with them.
The former Shiv Sena-UBT leader also shed light on his resignation from the party and said, “I was keen on politics since my college days. I worked for the Youth Congress for 14-15 years. However, I always listened to Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray. I considered Swami Vivekanand as my idol; Bhagat Singh and Rajguru are my idols. I have grown up adhering to the values of Chatrapati Maharaj; thus, Shiv Sena became very dear.”
Dubey said he joined the Shiv Sena in 2019, when it was aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but became increasingly uncomfortable as the party moved closer to the Congress.
Despite his reservations over the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition’s breakdown in 2022, he noted that he continued working as a spokesperson and political debater, articulating the party’s position.
Dubey said he eventually decided to resign because he disagreed with the Shiv Sena-UBT’s political direction, including what he described as its failure to uphold the legacy of Hindutva idealogue Veer Savarkar.
“When I saw that leaders of my party (Shiv Sena-UBT) are going at Coackroach Janta Party’s platform, supporting them, following Congress, and are not talking in the lines of Veer Savarkar or, for that matter, not praising the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his bravery, who saved so many lives, and in lieu of that supporting insects like ‘Cockroaches’, I thought I should resign,” he added.
Dubey said he believed Balasaheb Thackeray would have blessed his decision, describing himself as a Shiv Sainik, a devotee of Lord Ram, a Sanatani and a right-winger.
He added that he could not support a political position that, in his view, treated Lord Shiva and Lord Ram as separate.
–IANS
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