He dreamed of becoming a journalist, but life took him to the Indian Air Force. After flying in the sky as a Wing Commander, he chose the path of politics. There was no political background in the family, yet the aspiration to change Vidisha brought her to politics. According to Anuma Acharya, who has traveled from first BJP and then Aam Aadmi Party to becoming a dynamic spokesperson in Congress, the purpose of coming into politics was not to gain power, but to do something meaningful for her city and society. Although his disillusionment with BJP had happened in just five days in Gujarat, Narendra Modi's silence on the Kathua issue led him to the decision of completely distancing himself from the party.
How from aspiring to become a journalist to politics?
According to Anuma Acharya, before joining politics, his life was in a completely different direction. She wanted to become a journalist, but circumstances took her to the Indian Air Force. No one in the family was into politics and she was the first member of her family to enter politics.
There was also a personal attachment to Vidisha behind his entry into politics. He was born in Vidisha and his father also had a special attachment to this city. Seeing the status of Vidisha among the relatively backward districts in the NITI Aayog report, he felt that there was a need to do something different for this city.
Initially he thought of working through an NGO. However, later he felt that after starting an NGO, he would have to concentrate completely on it. For this, responsibilities like continuously collecting donations, employment of employees and running of the organization had to be taken up. In such a situation, he felt that politics could be such a platform where there would be an opportunity to work on a wide scale.
Why letter to Congress and BJP?
Anuma says that to enter politics, she first emailed Congress. He did not get a chance from there. After this he also wrote letters to BJP and Aam Aadmi Party. He says that there was no predetermined priority behind writing letters to these parties.
She has been a fan of Indira Gandhi. Regarding Emergency, he also says that it was a political decision taken by Indira Gandhi, which was widely criticized. According to him, Indira Gandhi later accepted the criticism and also apologized for it in a public meeting in Maharashtra.
Shortly after writing the letter to BJP, he also emailed the Prime Minister's Office. After this he got a call from PMO. This moment was very important for Anuma Acharya. At that time his understanding of politics was limited, so getting a call from the Prime Minister's Office felt like a big achievement for him.
What happened in PMO?
Anuma reached the Prime Minister's Office on time, where she met Narendra Modi. During the security check, his mobile was kept outside. He was allowed to take a bouquet inside.
According to Anuma, Narendra Modi got up from his chair as soon as he reached the room. He says that it is a common etiquette in military institutions to get up from one's seat as a mark of respect when a woman arrives. That's why the Prime Minister getting up like this initially seemed like a positive sign to them.
She had gone with the bouquet. According to him, the Prime Minister talked about using the bouquet for photos. After this there was a conversation between the two. Anuma had taken with her a file containing clippings of her work related to organizing competitions among students in schools of Vidisha and Swachh Bharat Mission.
During the conversation, the Prime Minister asked him how the household expenses would be managed after joining politics. Anuma told that she has the right to pension and her husband has no objection to her political decision. The Prime Minister also asked about the opinion of the family. According to Anuma, she liked this question because it made her feel that an attempt was being made to understand her personal and family aspects.
Why in Gujarat in five days?
After meeting in PMO, Anuma was sent to Gujarat. There she was seen as an officer from the Prime Minister's Office. She stayed in Gujarat for about 35 days, but her experience was not as expected.
According to Congress spokesperson Anuma Acharya, just five days after reaching Gujarat, he started feeling suffocated and uneasy there. She called her husband and said that she was suffocating there and was feeling nervous. The political situation of women especially disturbed him.
She claims that women got relatively weak resources in the office of BJP's Rashtriya Mahila Morcha. According to her, Mahila Morcha had the worst computers and the smallest room and many women were not able to express their views openly.
Anuma Acharya tells that during this time she also closely observed the situation of a senior woman leader of Mahila Morcha. According to him, the said leader cried several times while traveling in the car during the election campaign. He said that he gave 35 years to BJP, but whenever the opportunity came to go to Rajya Sabha, he was forced to withdraw from the nomination process.
Why not complain to PM?
When asked that if she was known as 'PM wali ma'am' in Gujarat, then why did she not directly talk to Narendra Modi after seeing the situation there, Anuma said that it was not possible for her to contact the Prime Minister directly.
He said that the Prime Minister's phone number was not directly available. At the same time, she also feared that if she complained directly about the system there, it could be taken as gossip. She did not want to be in a position of complaining about anyone at the beginning of her political career.
Her husband's advice also played a role in this entire incident. When she expressed her desire to return from there on the fifth day, her husband said that he had been there only for five days and one should not form a final opinion about BJP so soon. He advised that instead of taking immediate and final decisions like the army, first see how the party actually works.
According to Anuma, she found this advice practical. He decided that instead of exiting politics on the basis of a few days of restlessness, he should first understand the entire environment.
Why limited to women only?
In 2017, Anuma was initially restricted to work related to women in BJP's 'Kamalam' office in Ganganagar, Gandhinagar. After this, she asked an MP there to give her such work in which she would not be limited to women only.
After this he was given the job of data collection in the call centre. According to Anuma, she used to collect election related data and on the basis of such data BJP used to prepare its election strategy.
He met Narendra Modi again in Ahmedabad during the 2017 Gujarat Assembly elections. According to Anuma, the Prime Minister came and met her among about 600 people and described her as a hard worker. Even after this meeting, he felt that despite the political system of BJP, Narendra Modi is a good person personally. After this she returned to Vidisha and started working there.
Why was trust broken after Kathua rape case?
According to Anuma Acharya, his disillusionment with BJP had started in Gujarat itself, but the Kathua rape case of 2018 pushed him towards completely moving away from the party.
In 2018, a case of rape and murder of a girl came to light in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. Demonstrations and political controversy in support of the accused in the case generated sharp reactions across the country. According to Anuma, this incident troubled her deeply. He tagged Narendra Modi several times through social media and appealed to him to speak on this matter.
He says that for about two months he did not see the expected public response from the Prime Minister. During this time, a question arose in his mind that why is the Prime Minister not coming forward in public even after such a serious incident.
Later, in April 2018, the news of alleged presence of people associated with BJP in the program organized in support of the accused further increased his uneasiness. According to Anuma, after this she once again appealed to the Prime Minister for intervention.
After about three months, Narendra Modi gave a statement regarding the matter and talked about action against the accused. But by then a deep distrust of BJP had developed in Anuma's mind.
When did you become disillusioned with BJP?
Anuma Acharya's answer is clear – he became disillusioned with BJP within just five days of reaching Gujarat. However, he did not decide to leave the party at that very moment. According to her, politics was a completely new field for her and she was not in favor of taking hasty decisions in the new political environment.
The delay in Narendra Modi's reaction in the Kathua case deepened the questions arising within him. The developments in the Kathua case linked the political behavior he had witnessed in Gujarat to the broader political character of the BJP for him. Apart from this, he also told that in April 2018, he got a call from BJP that the party should accept him as a special i.e. invited member, the rest of the work will be done as per your wish. At that time I was surprised. Didn't even ask once before giving responsibility.
According to Anuma, till that time she had not even taken formal membership of BJP. Therefore, his separation from BJP was not a matter of any formal resignation, but was the result of a political experience in which initial attraction, meeting the Prime Minister and expectations were followed by gradual disillusionment.