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Kanhaiya echoes CM Nitish: Form rainbow coalition to counter saffron surge in country

“One colour (one party) may not be enough. We need “bahurangi ekta” (a rainbow coalition) to counter the saffron surge. We should strive for maximum unity with minimum understanding,” said Kanhaiya.

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Kanhaiya Kumar at an event in Patna on Sunday. Prashant Ravi

URGING political parties to forge a “bahurangi ekta” (a rainbow coalition) to counter the “saffron surge” in the country, JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar Sunday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS for “keeping the nation divided on the lines of caste, gender, creed and religion” and accused the BJP government of “changing the history of the country because its own history is bad”.

“They (Sangh and BJP) have learnt ‘divide-and-rule’ from the British and want us to remain divided on the lines of caste, gender, creed and religion… The BJP government though talks about “sabka saath sabka vikas”, the Sangh has a different design altogether and wants to see us divided. This is where I strongly talk about making education and employment as poll plank to counter the emotive issues of Sangh and BJP,” Kanhaiya told a packed auditorium here.

“One colour (one party) may not be enough. We need “bahurangi ekta” (a rainbow coalition) to counter the saffron surge. We should strive for maximum unity with minimum understanding,” said Kanhaiya, who has been charged with sedition for allegedly shouting “anti-national slogans” and is currently out on bail.

Kanhaiya, who met Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Saturday, said that he had come to Bihar to forge such unity. Interestingly, Nitish Kumar had recently mooted the idea of forming an anti-BJP grand alliance in the country ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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Meanwhile, Kanhaiya clarified that he was not joining politics and would complete his doctorate to become a teacher. “I had not gone to meet Nitish Kumar to demanda (poll) ticket, but to discuss why common school system could not be implemented in Bihar,” he said.

During his over an hour-long speech, he was shown black flags by two persons. Both were detained by the police. “I’m no longer disturbed by the such interruptions. Modiji does not like me because I keep asking questions,” he said, and added that the two protesters should have shown the “Tricolour to infuse nationalism” in him.

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