It is a sad old story now that Arvind Kejriwal, his political foray, his political party (AAP-Aam Aadmi Party) and his AAP government in Delhi, have been an absolute letdown from the ‘aspirational high’ of the ‘prospect of moral high they claimed to practice’.
He, his ministers, his MLAs and his ‘non-legislative’ party members have no qualms in presenting themselves as super VVIPs now – something that has been a political benchmark in India. They have even surpassed their political brethren in decorating themselves with ‘government positions (or positions on offer from the government)’ thus feeding on taxpayers’ money – freely and unaccountably.
Delhi is a small state, a half-state, a city state, but its largesse is ‘larger than life’ for this government of ‘common people’ that had claimed to be the ‘one-stop’ solution for ‘all woes of the common man’.
Instead, it is turning fast into a nightmare.
The AAP government in Delhi and the overall political culture besetting the party is like another ‘one-stop’ shop that plays with the electorate’s emotions/impulses to get its way in and which then forgets what it owes to the electorate for the rest of the tenure.
And why it hurts more in case of AAP?
Because we have more than enough bad reasons/negative developments to talk about it in its brief political history than any other political party of the day, especially when the party was trusted and entrusted by the electorate to fight the ‘prevailing political culture with multiple malaise’ – a political culture that is now AAP’s very own.
And continuing the ‘seemingly episodic endlessness’ here, he is again sharpening on his ‘pet demand’ of giving Delhi Police under him – amply magnified by the spate of unending law and order issues in the national capital – giving him thus the opportunity to hone his skills in his favourite pastime acts, i.e., targeting Narendra Modi, Union Government, Delhi’s L-G Najeeb Jung and Delhi Police – and not running and governing Delhi – that we all had so high hopes about. They will not take it, the deepening negative public opinion, but the acts like ‘over Rs. 500 crore publicity’ budget or dictatorial expulsion of many leaders from the party or the party’s frivolous stand on the Delhi’s Lokayukta would come back to haunt the party when it goes out to ask for votes again.
Two minor girls have been raped in Delhi and it is really, really worrying for all of us. Crimes against women and rape incidents across India are a blot on our national conscience and we need to desperately check the crisis, something where we have failed miserably so far.
But the irony is that we are forced to ‘not believe’ Arvind Kejriwal when he tweets asking the prime minister to ‘stop being stubborn and work with him’ and demanding again that ‘Delhi Police and Delhi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau’ be given under him.
Yes, the burden of incessant rape cases is unbearable but when Arvind Kejriwal politicises each and every development to further his own agenda, reacting contrary to the way he used to react, blaming Sheila Dikshit’s government for deteriorating law and order situation in Delhi, we cannot help the satirical ‘expression’ that naturally comes to our faces.