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Journalism of Courage
As temperature rises in the Battle for Gujarat, the one person on whom heat has been turned on is the Aam Aadmi Party’s state president Gopal Italia who was detained by the police in New Delhi on Thursday. Italia was held from the National Commission for Women (NCW) office where he was summoned in connection with two old videos of his that surfaced in quick succession in recent days.
In one video, he criticises Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “neech” politics and uses a cuss word for his government, and in another he tells women that “temples and kathas (religious discourses) are breeding grounds of exploitation” where they would gain nothing, and advises mothers and daughters to avoid going to temples if they want development and to gain respect.
The timing could not be worse for AAP, which recently removed a minister in Delhi to check the BJP’s onslaught over his remarks allegedly directed at Hindu gods and goddesses. Following the row, AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal had compared his fight to that of Lord Krishna’s against Kansa.
However, for now, AAP is standing by Italia, a firebrand and young 33-year-old leader who belongs to the politically significant Patidar community, earned his spurs in the Patidar quota movement and proved his worth to the party in the Surat Municipal Corporation polls.
It’s not Italia’s first brush with controversy though. In January 2017, as the newly elected BJP government was settling in – after a tough poll battle against Patidar anger – an audio clip had gone viral of Italia, then a contractual revenue clerk posted in Dhandhuka of Ahmedabad District, posing as a constable and calling up then Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel to complain that the changes in the prohibition policy were not sufficient. Italia was slapped with an impersonation charge and lost his job. At the time, he told The Indian Express he had claimed to be a constable out of “nervousness”.
Italia had indeed worked briefly for the Gujarat Police at one time, but as a Lok Rakshak Dal jawan on contract, posted in Ahmedabad. At the time, he had hurled a shoe at serving MoS (Home) Pradeepsinh Jadeja and lost his job.
The fourth of five siblings, raised by a single parent, Italia spent most of his growing-up years at his maternal grandparents’ home in Timbi, Bhavnagar. He is a graduate in political science and law.
Italia’s journey in politics began with the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), launched by Hardik Patel (who is now in the BJP) in 2015, to spearhead the protests seeking a quota for Patidars. Italia, who is a good orator, helped create awareness about PAAS in Bhavnagar and Surat, a source said.
An AAP leader from Surat says, “Gopalbhai has been in a government job and seen how employees have to struggle for their rights. So he decided to work against the BJP. He ruled out the Congress as it is an old party with no new strategies. His close friend Yogesh Jadwani (a spokesperson of AAP) brought him to AAP.”
The leader cites Italia’s large following on social media as a sign of his popularity.
It was at the height of the Covid pandemic, in June 2020, that Italia joined AAP, via a Zoom meeting, which was attended by AAP leaders Gopal Rai (then in-charge of Gujarat), his friend Jadwani and Manoj Sorathiya. He also got married around this time.
After the lockdown was relaxed, Italia travelled to Delhi to meet Kejriwal, and was appointed vice-president of Gujarat AAP and later its president.
Italia was credited with AAP’s impressive performance in the local body elections last year, where it won 27 of 120 seats in Patidar-dominated areas of the Surat Municipal Corporation – Surat is Italia’s home city – to emerge as the main opposition.
Following the row over the videos, Italia has blamed the BJP, saying the party was targeting him because he was a Patidar, and “the BJP hates Patidars”.
