Intro: The historical success that AAP achieved has gone into Kejriwal’s head. Now, someday he may even hold a Kangaroo court (read Kejriwal court), to try judges, who give verdicts against AAP leaders!
The latest nautanki from the stable of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was Delhi Chief Minister Mr Arvind Kejriwal slamming the Indian media of hatching conspiracy against his party and alleging that “there is a big conspiracy to finish off AAP by a very large section of the media”. Mr Kejriwal in his inimitable style also alleged that “A very large section of the media has accepted Supari (contract) for finishing off AAP,” and demanded that there should be a “public trial of the media” at certain places in the City like in chourahas (squares).
That means the Delhi CM who became an icon as a crusader for the common man, now wants to become a Maoist commander and have a Kangaroo court to put media on trial, like Maoists do in their bastion in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, etc.
Arvind Kejriwal has a penchant for using and abusing the media as and when he pleases to do so. Probably suffering from selective amnesia, this ‘crusader’ forgets that it was the Indian media, especially the television news channels that went hyperbolic in projecting him as the best alternative – first against Delhi’s three time former CM Sheila Dikshit and then against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Riding high on the shoulders of the media, Kejriwal achieved what he had wanted—‘Power’—immense power. With 67 out of 70 Assembly seats
in his pocket, he has nothing to
worry about. He can fix anyone from bureaucrats to journalists. He can throw out anyone out of the party like Prashant Bhushan, who had been the best arrow in his quiver to take
opponents head on in the cases of
corruption. But, that is past.
Now, his latest target is media.
He has valid reasons to justify his stand. How can the media question someone like Kejriwal & Co, who have received a historical mandate from the aam aadmi.
Probably Kejriwal wants to see himself as Shashi Kapoor (Ravi) in one of the 1970s blockbuster ‘Deewaar’, who replies to his
on-screen elder brother Amitabh Bachchan (Vijay): “Mere paas
Maa hai”.
Kejriwal means to say: “Mere paas power hai (I’ve the power with me)”. So, media beware! I’ll put you on trial. But, even when Kejriwal didn’t have that ‘power’ with him, he had threatened the media in March 2014 that he would ‘jail’ them if the AAP came to power? Was that an empty threat?
It might have been a shrewd strategy played out by Kejriwal to make the AAP hog maximum media limelight in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections. Both the print and the electronic media termed him as arrogant, with an authoritarian streak. But his statement ensured him maximum space on TV channels throughout the day slamming everyone and everything, including Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, who never made any appearances on prime time discussion.
No doubt, there’s an erosion of values in some section of the media at present, which Kejriwal has tried to use as a tool. The Niira Radia tapes, for instance, allegedly pointed to a nexus between high profile editors and politicians, compromising the integrity of journalists and their profession in the eyes of the common man.
But, now Kejriwal is back with that arrogance and his authoritarian streak to rein in the journalists. And, as any other Fascist leader, Kejriwal too can question the media, who have been exposing the misdeeds of his ministers and MLAs.
How can media question Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar on his bogus degree or Kumar Vishwas for his alleged ‘illicit relationship’ or AAP MLA Jarnail Singh for slapping a government official or about the suicide of a farmer at Jantar Mantar, who was an AAP volunteer? After all, Kejriwal is backed by the people’s mandate. The aam aadmi of Delhi has made him the CM of the national capital.
But, Kejriwal shouldn’t forget the character of ‘Ravana’ in the
epic Ramayana, who despite being a scholar, a great warrior and above all having the blessings of Lord Shiva, had to be killed by Lord Ram for being an egotist and thinking himself as omnipotent.
However, as a nameless common Indian, what I can see, the Indian media should be able to see it too. The historical success that AAP achieved has gone into Kejriwal’s head. Now, someday he may even hold a Kangaroo court (read Kejriwal court), to try judges, who give verdicts against AAP leaders!
(The opinion expressed in this column is solely that of the writer – Nameless Indian)
