Ex-Maoist Gaddar meets Rahul, Sonia, but won’t join Congress

Revolutionary balladeer Gaddar, 72, who gave up his association with Maoists a couple of years ago, called on Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Friday and promised to back the party too, but made it clear that he would not join the party. Gaddar indicated his desire to defeat the ruling TRS in the coming Assembly elections in Telangana.

Gaddar went to Delhi along with Vimala and son Surya Kiran and called on several Congress leaders, apparently to convey his political leanings towards a secular front in the country and oppose the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Besides Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, the singer met former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during this current Delhi trip till Sunday. Gaddar, alias Vithal, was a key figure in the CPI (ML) People’s War from 1974 to till 2004 when the party became CPI (Maoists) and later played an inactive role till recently, around 2016. Gaddar, who writes and sings revolutionary songs, used to draw huge crowds not only in the combined Andhra Pradesh, but in Hindi speaking areas in the north and Bengal too. He went underground and was jailed many times. Gaddar is a Dalit leader and hails from Venkatapuram near Secunderabad in Telangana.

As per to police sources, at least 200 youth were drawn into Maoist movement after watching Gaddar’s cultural programmes on behalf of his Jana Natya Mandali (a front outfit of Maoists) in Hyderabad and districts in 1990 and 1991. And most of them died in police encounters subsequently. Gaddar’s relations with JNM and Maoists were bumpy with occasional differences with the party.

Gaddar who penned scores of songs questioning religious beliefs and promoting rationalism slowly turned to mainstream lifestyle and wrong devotional and love songs too, on the ground that he cannot afford to contradict the beliefs of ordinary people. When his son Surya Kiran joined Congress last year, many thought that Gaddar, too, would join mainstream politics, but he didn’t. He, not surprisingly, was seen with different political leaders, including those from BJP, but maintained that he, in principle, was against to vote based politics. However, he enrolled himself in the recent drive by the Election Commission and proudly flaunted his voter registration slip before the media. He even said that he would write songs on the value of democracy in India.

Talking to different media, including this newspaper, from Delhi on Saturday, Gaddar said that he met Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi as he wanted to ensure that the Congress won in Telangana this time, but, he won’t join the party. He refused to explain why he cannot join Congress. He said that Sonia was instrumental in granting Telangana state four years ago. Gaddar attacked Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for encouraging feudal elements in Telangana in the last four and a half years. “I am against both feudal and communal elements in Telangana as well as at the Centre,” he said.