Here I speak
Dear Mr Kejriwal,
As a common Indian or the aam aadmi as you always refer to in your speech and interviews — with no political backing or affiliation, I had no other option to reach you but through this column. Because, approaching you or anyone at the top leadership in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) including those members who are a part of your coterie became extremely difficult, immediately after a week of your swearing-in ceremony. I tried to reach you through your local committee party workers, but they too shared the same view of inaccessibility of you and your comrades.
Anyway as a well-educated, award-winning social activist-turned-politician-turned-chief minister (unlike many of your ilk), you must have read or heard this famous funeral address in Shakespeare’s one of the most celebrated plays Julius Caeser based on a 44 BC plot:
Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caeser, not to praise him…
This was delivered on the occasion of Julius Caeser’s funeral by his friend Mark Antony, who without even naming the conspirators, who were behind the assassination of Caeser, turned the crowd against them, through his oratory skills alone. More than 2000 years later you too won the hearts of millions with the same soft skill and the politically ignorant, innocent aam aadmi, especially the much talked about Indian middle-class that easily becomes prey of emotions and sentimental values, voted you to power.
Because, the class got frustrated over the issues of rampant corruption, nepotism, hooliganism, escalating prices of essential commodities, poor medical facilities and what not. We all know each and every political party is corrupt, how small it may be. And there is nothing new in it. An Indian visionary and intellectual luminary Kautilya wrote about corruption in politics and governance some 2000 years ago in Arthashastra. But, when you gave a clarion call along with Anna Hazare (though you deserted him midway) to make our political system and the nation ‘corruption-free’, the common man took the risk and exercised their voting rights to make you Delhi’s CM. This incidence of a party taking birth and elected to power within a year, will go down in our political history.
Wherever we – the aam aadmi visited any state, any tehsil – we found people discussing you and the AAP, and about the hope you had generated among us. But, your 49-day stint as CM in the nation’s capital and thereafter vanquishing the post has left us disillusioned. The day-to-day histrionics of your cabinet colleagues, the statements made in public and then taking a somersault – all have shattered our hopes and morale.
Our faith in you got strengthened, when your actions and statements on TV channels forced other political parties including the big two- Congress and BJP to go for an introspection and compelled the Nehru-Gandhi scion and crown prince of Congress Rahul Gandhi to sit on ground and discuss with the common man including the porters.
But, Sir your own statements and actions before becoming the CM and later got contradicted, seem to be the last nail in the coffin of aam aadmi’s faith. It’s a betrayal of our sentiments, values and the trust we all had on you and the political outfit you created in the name of us.
Given to the paucity of space I have, let me talk straight. Your one single statement was enough for an average common Indian to repent over our decision of having trusted AAP. In an interview to a TV channel you had said swearing by your children, “Bachhon ki kasam hai, na BJP se gathbandhan karenge, na Congress se gathbandhan karenge.” And you did just the opposite to become Delhi’s CM. Sir, how can you do it in the name of your children? Didn’t your conscience prick for once? Is it due to this reason George Bernard Shaw had said, “Politics is the last resort for the scoundrels?”
Now, after resigning you are saying “Desh aur sachhai ke liye hazaron CM ki kursiyan qurban”. It’s simply breach of trust. Now you are aiming at Lok Sabha polls, because the media glorified you as a ‘PM in race’ along with Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. I still remember the statement of former IPS Kiran Bedi, who said on TV that “Arvind Kejriwal will seek an exit route, so that he can contest LS polls, which otherwise is not possible as a sitting CM”.
Sir, what about those promises you made to the aam aadmi in Delhi? As CM you ordered a straight 50 per cent discount to those (supporters of AAP) who defaulted on electricity bill payment. Your justification: the defaulters supported you when you had asked them not to pay electricity bill during Sheila Dikshit’s regime as a ‘protest’. That means, anyone who adopts a dishonest route, will enjoy exemption and freebies! You mean to say we, the real aam aadmi, who voted for AAP despite not affiliated to it, were fools? Simply, because we’re law-abiding citizens?
Please don’t forget Sir, someday some other politician may use the same weapon against you. Don’t create a frankenstein, like our former PM late Indira Gandhi did with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and the US government in Iraq, and they ultimately became a victim of it.
Lesser we say, better it is about the melodrama, theatrics and stunts created by your colleagues like Somnath Bharti, Madan Lal etc. Immediately after your swearing-in address you asked public at Ramlila Maidan to expose corrupt officials by taking resort to sting operation. Great idea Sirji! But how far convincing and practical it is, only God knows. May I ask you, why that skill was not used by Madan Lal himself, when ‘Modi and Arun Jaitley’s men’ tried to bribe him with Rs 20 crore to topple your government? Probably, you missed a chance to nail your strongest opponent in the country!
And Sir, please don’t say your party leaders are not arrogant and don’t take refuse to lies. Latest example is Shazia Ilmi – a darling of electronic media, who was hyperbole in claiming that corruption had come down within a month, backed by a falsely survey in the name of Transparency International. Later, you people had to publicly apologise for this blatant lie.
For God sake, Mr Kejriwal please stop resorting to such mean strategy to fight corruption and gain power. Or else the same aam aadmi will dump you and your AAP one day and it will be a written as a ‘part of bad history’.
Yours truly,
(An Aam Aadmi,
a Nameless Indian)
[The opinion expressed in this column is solely that of the writer – Nameless Indian].
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