49 days ago

Intentions mean almost everything in politics. Different people have different reasons to join politics. While there is no doubt that a number of politicians enter politics to make money and enjoy (and in the process, abuse) power, that isn't a fair judgement of many others. That said, the rotten eggs have created and continue to create enough problems for everyone else. The victim of their craziness is the every Indian. Their incompetence has destroyed system. They have made the basic rights of every Indian inaccessible to us. In short, they have made our lives harder to make theirs easier. That is the India we live in today. That is the reality.

There has been more than enough criticism, on this blog and elsewhere, of Arvind Kejriwal's attempt to make these problems go away. The foremost of these criticisms came not just from bloggers and Arnab goswami but also from those who were closely associated with him. It was always "My way or the highway" with Arvind Kejriwal. Unfortunately, in a democracy, that just doesn't work. During the lokpal movement, it was always the "Jan lokpal bill" v/s "The-multiple-versions-of-the-sarkari-lokpal-bill". If the latter didn't match the former, article for article, it wasn't good enough. Now many people might say that it yeilded some result and therefore that strategy actually worked well for him and the movement. The sad truth( thankfully, in this case) is that it did not. His multiple deadlines  notwithstanding, the lokpal bill was only introduced in parliament after it was scrutinised, modified, approved and went through every process that democracy prescribes. It took 2 years.His deadlines weren't met. His changes weren't accepted. His movement ultimately fizzled out into a monumental nothingness. But the nation got a lokpal that everyone other than Arvind kejriwal agreed upon. The unfortunate debate that follows that statement is that the BJP and the Congress have tied up to give the country a weak lokpal. Mind you, nobody other than Prashanth Bhushan really knows how the strength of this lokpal is measured. Apparently any lokpal that isn't signed by Arvind and team is weak and useless.

And then the Aam Aadmi Party happened. The people of Delhi, in their wisdom, gave the AAP an incredible welcome to politics. Supported by the congress only mathematically, Arvind kejriwal went from leader of street protests, to CM of the national capital. And then for 49 days, did..well did something. No one is quite sure what it was.

It started with honouring the poll promises. He told everyone that he was going to give free water, electricity and everything. His rationale was that he was using the money for the good of the people and not on helicopters like other CMs do. And there was the problem number one.He forgot to mention to everyone that the subsidy he was providing was going to be shared by everyone but the benefits went only to the ones that had metered connections. And forgot to mention that it was only going to exist for about six months.
And then he waived off the electricity bills for those people who had participated in his "non violent civil disobedience movement". Problem number two. Who was Arvind representing? The people of delhi or just the ones that voted for him? So the injustice of high electricity bills only affected families that supported AAP? Why not waive off the bills of every household in delhi for the same period? If that isn't blatant votebank politics, I'm not sure what is.
Then there was Somnath Bharthi. Everybody who is accused by Arvind Kejriwal of wrong doing must resign and live in cave until a probing agency that has been probed by a probing agency and found to be competent to probe, probes the person and finds him innocent. But for somnath Bharthi, an "internal party enquiry" is sufficient to clear him of all evils and be defended to the end of the world by everyone including the saintly Yogendra Yadav, to whom we shall come to next. Double standards much? We think so.
The Khap Panchayat issue. In short, Yogendra Yadav, with an eye on the Haryana elections, sent feelers to the Khaps of Harayana by calling them entities that are needed to preserve the cultural fabric of the society or some such thing. A reply to that, in short, NO. (If you don't know what Khap panchayats are, they're the ones that kill couples for marrying from the same clan or village or species or some such thing ( basically if you don't marry someone "society accepts"). Just google their atrocities and mail us if your stomach didn't churn at the thought of encouraging them.
There was  the issue also about almost cancelling Republic day celebrations because the CM of Delhi was on Dharna against the Home ministry of India demanding that the Delhi police be brought under the control of the Delhi government. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it these guys that wanted the CBI to be taken out of the control of the union government? How is this not the most straightforward case of double speak you have ever seen?
The list isn't that short. Just take the newspapers of the last 49 days and you'll find it hard to find 3 in a row that don't have something related to the AAP.

But that's hardly the point. Arvind Kejriwal has now resigned. Why? The delhi assembly refused to allow the introduction of the Jan lokpall bill. Who is the Delhi assembly? The group of people representing the people of Delhi that did and did not vote for the AAP. And the majority of those people, represent the people of delhi that did not vote for the AAP. Apparently, their views don't matter.
The fact is, that the rules do not allow the Delhi assembly to introduce the Jan lokpal bill without consent from the home ministry. It is a fact. There is no debate there. It is a legal fact. Not even one of those  one-sided ones that Arnab sometimes uses. Crystal clear.
The problem is, Arvind kejriwal isn't saying that. What he is saying is that, "Look. I'm trying to do everything I can to get this bill passed that will put every corrupt person in jail and clean our country of all evils but the Congress and the BJP are doing everything to stop me in my tracks. I am helpless".
From day one, he has been the unwilling CM of Delhi. He tried everything to get the congress or the bjp to force him out, but couldn't get them to. What better opportunity than this?
You will notice that the loksabha campaign of the Aam aadmi party will be full of stories of how the congress and the BJP never allowed the passage of an anti corruption bill and how they are all corrupt and so on.

Coming back to the "My way or the highway" strategy not working now. Let us see how that applies here too. Did he get the Delhi police under the delhi government? No. He did almost put us to shame in front of the world by putting the republic day celebrations at the capital in near jeopardy.
Did he get the Lokpall bill passed? No. But he'll blame it on everyone else. AK, that's what they all do.
Did he clean up the system? No. He transferred some officials and shook up the system but didn't give himself enough time to clean it up.
Notice the use of the phrase "give himself enough time". Arvind, did anyone force you out? The congress didn't withdraw support. The BJP didn't ask you to quit. Prasanth Bhushan was on a news channel saying " The last nail in the coffin of this government was the FIR against Mukesh Ambani". You quit. Resigned. Mukesh Ambani didn't force you to quit. If you wanted to change the system so badly, why quit? Stay on and do it. But that was never the plan was it?

Now the Lok Sabha elections are almost here. Without Arvind as its face, the Aam Aadmi Party's campaign will never succeed. But, with an Arvind who is seen to have been cheated by the congress and the BJP, success is guaranteed. Is that the plan?

It probably isn't. But when the Lokpal movement gathered steam, you ditched it for a larger platform, the delhi elections. When you won that, you have now begun looking for bigger fish, the General Elections. Food for thought.
Meanwhile poor Delhi will be rewarded with president's rule. The water bills will go up again and so will electricity bills. The jan lokpal bill will gather dust in some shelf in the secretariat.
And the people of delhi will go back to living in the Delhi of 49 days ago.

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