New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) Senior JD(U) leader K C Tyagi on Wednesday said as long as  "aandolanjeevi" and "aandolankari" keep resisting for various causes, the spirit of democracy shall stay alive, and if agitation gets lessened in society then it means that "oppression against the poor has increased".He was speaking at a launch of a book "Aandolanjeevi", which charts several farmers movement, including the one at the border areas of Delhi for a little over a year starting November 2020, and few other movements held in the last few decades.The JD(U) spokesperson in his address described himself as a "aandolankari" (agitator) and said he bowed to socialist leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, George Fernandes, who protested for causes that went beyond the interests of Indian people or its geographical boundaries."I am an "aandolankari", and I say, "aandolanjeevi", "aandolankari" and "aandolanbaaz", as long as they keep resisting for various causes, the spirit of democracy shall stay alive. And, if agitation gets lessened in society then it means that oppression against the poor has increased, and the number of people who resist has reduced and their will power has reduced," he said.Tyagi said socialists have always been active in protesting against social inequality and inequities, and after few years of Independence, a group of them had even protested in front of the motorcade of the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in Allahabad.They shouted slogans like, "Desh ki janta bhukhi hai, ye azadi jhoothi hai", he said, as he recalled various other protests by socialist leaders in the past few decades.In a light-hearted way, he described Lohia and Fernandes, among other socialist leaders as "kukhayat aandolanjivi (notorious agitators)", drawing laughter from the audience.Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi in his speech, however, took exception to the use of the word "aandolanjivi" in the title of the book.He said the prime minister had used the word "aandolanjivi" in a sarcastic way, in context of the recent farmers movement.Those who resist against the establishment, should respond in a way that doesn"t take away the seriousness of the matter, he added.In February 2021, speaking in Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had slammed the mushrooming of a new breed of "andolan-jivi" -- professional protestors -- who can be seen at every agitation. "These parasites feast on every agitation," he had said.The book, written by journalist Vinod Agnihotri, was released at an event held at the India International Centre in the presence of veteran leader and former BJP president Murli Manohar Joshi.Union minister Nitin Gadkari was also scheduled to attend the event, but could not.In his address, Joshi emphasised on the importance of agriculture and farmers for development of any country.  He spoke of the evolution of artificial intelligence, and other advancements in industrial revolution, and added that agriculture is the "only system which does not have violence at its root".Industrial revolution "will not produce continuity, but junk," said Joshi, a former professor of physics at Allahabad University.  "If we want a society free of exploitation, then we will have to decided should we take the path of fourth industrial revolution, or should we go for the path that is guided by our old philosophy employed in a newer context," he asked. PTI KND ZMN