Labour leader says BJP must pay for neglect, to campaign against party

PUNE: Leader of the unorganized labourers

Baba Adhav

’s announcement on Thursday to campaign against the Bharatiya Janata Party in Pune has increased the party’s aspirant Girish Bapat’s worries.


Adhav alleged that the

BJP government

has done nothing for the unorganised sector and must pay the price for such neglect.

While the BJP city unit has played down the claims of a possible dent in their vote share due to Adhav’s resentment against the party, the Congress said his stance will help them in the polls.

Born Babasaheb Pandurang Adhav in 1930 in Pune, Baba Adhav, is probably the oldest trade unionist in the state.

From Hamal Panchayat (headloaders union), to Rickshaw Panchayat (autorickshaw union), to Kagad Kaach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (union of scrap collectors), Solid Waste Collection and Handling (SWaCH), a collective of wastepickers and many other unions, Adhav commands deep respect in the vast expanse of the unorganized sector in the city.

“In the last five years, the unorganized sector has suffered a lot. Modi had promised to make their lives better. We are still unregistered, there is no social security and we have yet to get any pension when we won’t be able to work. If the government is not able to do even this for the most vulnerable sections of the society, what is the point of such a government?” Adhav told reporters in Pune on Friday He said the food supply given to Kashtache Anna Kendra (subsidized food centres) has stopped. “These are the places from where the lowest rungs of the working class eats food. Since the BJP came to power in the state, the food supply to these places has either stopped or comes intermittently. Now these centres are not profit-making businesses. Without help from the government, they cannot function. But all our appeals have fallen on deaf ears,” he said.

Raosaheb Kadam, vice-president of Rickshaw Panchayat, said the cost of owning a rickshaw has increased in the last five years.

“Insurance companies have tripled the premium for autorickshaws. The licence and vehicle passing fee has increased. Most of us can use cellphones but are not good with filling forms on the internet. But everything has gone online and we have to rely on agents to fill forms who charge their fee. To top it all, the vehicle passing facility has shifted from Phulenagar to Dive Ghat. The cost of taking an auto to Dive Ghat is high, there is no source of refreshment or a repair shop there. In all this, the present government has not helped us,” Kadam said, adding that the Rickshaw Panchayat will tell its members running into thousands to vote against the BJP this time.

Adhav said his support to the Congress does not mean it is permanent. “This is an issuebased support. We need to show whoever is in power that you have to work for the people. If promises made by Rahul Gandhi do not work out if they come to power, we will protest against them too,” he added.

Political analyst Suhas Palshikar said merely campaigning against the BJP may not help the Congress. “Secondly, it is too late as Pune will go to the polls on April 2,” he said via a text message to TOI.

Yogesh Gogawale, the BJP’s city unit chief, said Adhav’s decision will not impact the BJP’s chances in the elections.

“Adhav is an honorable man and we respect him. In a democracy, it is his right to express his opinion. Pune city has shown its trust in the BJP in the last election. Adhav can rethink this decision. This city is not what it used to be 50 years ago. It is a futuristic society and our party supports such thinking. We don’t think Adhav’s stance will affect our party’s prospects,” Gogawale added.

Congress’s city unit chief Ramesh Bagwe said Adhav’s plea will impact voters.

“His work for the poor is well-known. People in the unorganized sector take his appeal as the last word. Any opinion which he shares will make Pune’s voters think about whom they vote for,” he added.