New Delhi, January 4: Senior Supreme Court lawyer HS Phoolka, who resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday, said his decision to join politics was wrong.
Addressing reporters at the Press Club of India in Delhi, he recalled the agitation days under anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare in 2011, saying then we could call “a spade a spade”.
“My biggest reason to quit the party (AAP) is to re-launch an agitation similar to that of the 2011 Anna movement. The need is to begin another such Anna movement so that political parties don’t take it lightly and listen to the voice,” Phoolka said a day after he handed over his resignation to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.
Condemning the “large-scale” support of political groups to drugs, Phoolka alleged drugs were widely distributed during the last SGPC elections.
Phoolka said organisations will be formed against the rampant drug use in the state and SGPC will be freed from political authorities.
“SGPC is a religious body and I am against its politicisation,” he said.
He declared that he would not be contesting SGPC or Lok Sabha elections.
He said like-minded people will be roped in to launch an organisation in the next six months.
He announced that he would be working towards forming a new front in Punjab against drug abuse and maybe later it is replicated in other states.
In his new endeavour, Phoolka said support will be sought from other such social organisations.
He didn’t rule out the possibility of aligning with Swaraj Abhian leaders while responding to a question by The Tribune.
He said he is open to join hands with all non-political organisations in the country that are working on social issues.
Talking about possible associations in future, Phoolka also mentioned the name of veteran Anna Hazare.
While sharing his future plans, the former AAP leader said he would carry on his struggle for justice to 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims and ensure that like recently-convicted Sajjan Kumar, the other two Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and now MP CM Kamal Nath are punished.When asked by a reporter whether the AAP’s agenda does not include social causes that he had to leave the party, Phoolka said, it is for the people to understand.
This said, he clearly indicated his disagreement with AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and his party’s approach towards the Congress in the run-up to the 2019 General Election.
While Phoolka like many others in the AAP’s Punjab unit is against any sort of alliance with the Congress that the party is mulling for the elections, the situation became strained especially after the AAP’s flip-flop over the recent Delhi Assembly’s contentious resolution reference to Rajiv Gandhi’s award withdrawal.
Phoolka said he wanted the 1984 fight be taken up through a common platform against the Congress adding that he carried the fight (‘84 riots case) without joining any political party for thirty years.
“I came into politics thinking my fight will get a boost once I get into social sphere but I learnt in the last five years…. Joining politics was a wrong decision,” said Phoolka.
Noting that he had anyhow distanced himself from active politics since one year, the former AAP leader claimed that he has managed to build better primary schools without any government’s help.
