Gujarat AAP MLA Umesh Makwana alleges caste bias, resigns from party posts
suspended later for ‘anti-party’ activity
Gandhinagar: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Botad MLA Umesh Makwana resigned from all his party posts on Thursday, alleging caste discrimination within the party. Makwana, who served as AAP’s Whip in the Gujarat Assembly and was also the party’s national joint secretary, said he would continue as an AAP worker. However, just hours later, the party suspended him for five years, accusing him of engaging in “anti-party” and “anti-Gujarat” activities, reported Indian Express.
This came just after AAP’s Gopal Italia won the Visavadar Assembly by-election.
Speaking at a press conference in Gandhinagar, Makwana, who belongs to the Koli community (listed under OBC), claimed that AAP, like other major political parties such as BJP and Congress, only uses backward communities for votes but does not support them after elections. He alleged that leaders from upper castes are given more importance in AAP and that the party ignores backward communities when it comes to assigning major positions.
Makwana said, “Whether it is AAP, BJP or Congress, all use backward communities as vote banks. After elections, leaders from these communities are sidelined. The party does not raise its voice for backward communities. When it comes to giving key posts, preference is given to the swarna samaj (upper castes).”
He also said he had sent his resignation directly to AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal through WhatsApp and added, “I will continue working as an AAP worker.” On whether he would also resign from his MLA post, Makwana said he would first talk to the people of his constituency, Botad, before making any decision. “They trusted me with this position, and I will not do anything that betrays that trust,” he said.
Makwana denied that his resignation was related to Gopal Italia being possibly named party Whip. “I have not received any such message from the party,” he said.
He also accused the party of caste-based favouritism during recent by-elections. Referring to the Kadi and Visavadar seats, he said, “Our Kadi candidate, a Dalit, had to take a Rs 10 lakh loan to contest. He got no support. In contrast, Gopal Italia, a Patidar, had the full backing of the party. Crores were spent in Visavadar. This kind of discrimination is unacceptable.” Makwana added, “You keep Babasaheb’s photo, but if you don’t follow his ideals, you can’t do politics in his name.”
Following Makwana’s remarks , AAP’s Gujarat president Isudan Gadhvi said that Makwana had been suspended from the party for five years. Gadhvi said they had received several complaints of corruption against Makwana from Botad and that he had been warned several times before. “The leadership has now taken a final decision,” he said.
Gadhvi also accused the BJP of trying to break AAP by poaching its leaders. He said, “If Makwana has the courage, he should resign as MLA and recontest. I challenge the BJP to give him a ticket and try to win Botad.”
Responding to Makwana’s accusations, AAP spokesperson Yogesh Jadvani said the party had given him many opportunities. “Within 15 days of joining AAP, he was made head of the OBC/SC/ST cell. He was later made a state spokesperson, then elected as MLA in 2022, became national joint secretary, and also the party’s Whip. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he was fielded from Bhavnagar. AAP gave Umeshbhai his political identity,” Jadvani said.
He also alleged that Makwana was not available to support the Koli community when they needed him, and that other AAP leaders, both upper and backward caste, had stepped in instead. “Now he is speaking in the language of the BJP,” Jadvani said.
On the allegation that AAP neglected its Kadi candidate, Jadvani said the candidate had not made any complaints and that Makwana himself had been assigned responsibility for Kadi but was not present during the campaign.
Meanwhile, BJP Gujarat’s media convener Yagnesh Dave responded to Gadhvi’s statements, saying, “Isudanbhai blames BJP for everything. He should look within and understand why people are leaving his party. BJP already has 162 seats and doesn’t need to poach anyone. He should hold himself accountable.”
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
