Politics Of Corruption: AAP Wants Kejriwal To Be CM Again!

Arvind Kejriwal's ambitions were rooted to the popularity and the national appeal of the anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare. Utilizing his proximity to Anna he formed his own political entity Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and  decided it was time to part ways with his 'mentor' as the great idealistic campaigner never wanted to have anything to do with political parties. When Kejriwal was given a stunning mandate by the people in Delhi he took it as a verdict for his party and his ambitions partially fulfilled Kejriwal and his party indulged in all sorts of politicking that any political party is capable of. He did not want to accept that people in fact wanted a corruption free government and voted for a government that could ensure a solution for this burning issue of the Indian way of life. With power and popularity peaking Kejriwal did all possible under the sun to create and maintain the hype around him. 

Like a person possessed by ambition Kejriwal looked ahead to further his success after the Delhi Assembly poll. He kept his sight on the coming Lok Sabha Elections and thought a person like him could not possibly waste his time being a mere Chief Minister while the post of the Prime Minister seemed to beckon to him constantly. His AAP had already decided to contest in 400 out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats. Therefore Kejriwal decided to quit as Chief Minister and after 49 days in power let his government fall citing a whole lot of flimsy reasons. He conveniently forgot that his party betrayed his voters absolutely and made the fatal mistake of taking voters for granted. He even did not like the idea of the BJP trying to form a government in his place and so moved the Supreme Court seeking immediate dissolution of the Delhi Assembly. 

We have already told you what happened in the General Elections-2014. Apart from Kejriwal losing to Narendra Modi in Varanasi his AAP fared miserably everywhere except for the state Punjab where it managed to get 4 seats. In Delhi AAP could not get a single seat coming second to the winning BJP candidates in only three constituencies while coming on top only in 10 Assembly segments out of a total of 70 segments. People of Delhi rejected AAP in no uncertain terms and like the national trend brought in the BJP in all of the 7 seats of Delhi. At the moment Arvind Kejriwal and his party have nothing to do to stay on in media limelight. 

So then in a party meet top leaders some members of AAP mooted a proposal that Kejriwal try form a government in Delhi again and naturally take over as Chief Minister. Kejriwal was also present in the meeting and reportedly did not comment. Around twenty AAP members were in favor of this and they represent a typical political behavior. They cannot afford to stay starved of political power and clout, and so would like to grab that by hook or by crook. The so-called anti-corruption activists have come a full ironic circle now. What they are doing or trying to do now is moral corruption and India Against Corruption must take note of this. The Fight Against Corruption must now be directed against the very people who took advantage of the movement to grab political power and not having their plate full would like to devour some more. 

And to whose support they are looking for now? After receiving an overwhelming public mandate BJP would have no business of supporting some opportunists, and the party had already stated that it was for fresh elections in Delhi. Are they then looking forward to getting support again from Congress--a party so utterly rejected and bitterly dejected? Fittingly AAP got snubbed from Congress too as the party said clearly that it did not want to support again and would like to have fresh elections despite its present miserable condition. Kejriwal blossomed his political career by attacking the Congress endlessly and now he must pay heed to the same party when it tells him that he has no moral authority to try form a government in Delhi again. Anna Hazare was dead right when almost two years back he set some essential qualifications for a person wanting to fight corruption.

PS: AAP tweeted later today that some media are resorting to spreading rumors and that there was no question of forming a government again in Delhi because AAP wanted reelection in the first place.  Well, it will definitely prevent loss of sleep for many AAP loyalists! For the moment, of course! 

Darbari Politics: Arvind Kejriwal Resigns And The Untouchables!

He made absolute fools of all in this wonderfully rule-breaking country of ours including this writer. This writer, inspired so foolishly at the prospect of an ‘honest’ government coming to rule the capital, called upon him not to go overboard. But enough political knowledge was necessary to understand the reality that he wanted to go overboard all the time so that he could blissfully avoid governance, go back to the streets and start anew his blame-game kind of  ‘darbari’ politics. Arvind Kejriwal, the 48-day old Chief Minister of Delhi, resigned tonight because it had been his game plan to climax his departure with the Jan Lokpal Bill (Peoples’ Ombudsman Bill against corruption which is stronger than the Lokpal Bill already passed by the Indian Parliament). Alas! Thanks to all his drama and brinkmanship he proved himself to be as good and shrewd a politician like others we are always used to. Like the others he too holds the common man in a fittingly unhealthy contempt with the ‘common’ attributes: That common people have their brains not at the right places; that they have short-term memory; that they are very emotional and eternally vulnerable; that they can be fooled again, again and again and that a use and throw policy is the perfect choice to deal with the common man. His supporters gathered at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Headquarters tonight in Delhi looked like an unholy pack of zombies unseeing, shouting and following blindly.

Arvind Kejriwal first tried the Janata Darbarsmeaning public courts. He got scared in the very first and gave up the idea fearing for his dear life. Then he shielded his openly guilty minister, Somnath Bharati, passing on the blame to the central Home ministry and lamenting the fact that he did not have control over the Delhi Police. He created anarchy in the capital leading his supporters in the streets and even spending a full night with them in the streets. He got very ill, so he got scared again and called a truce having some understanding with the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi. About that time he started talking about his ultimate weapon of populism that is Jan Lokpal Bill and made it clear that he would resign if the Bill is not passed by the Delhi Assembly. In the meantime he protested against a natural gas price hike and lodged FIRs against two Government of India ministers and a business tycoon. He wanted to introduce the Jan Lokpal Bill in Delhi Assembly today totally disregarding the law and the constitution and despite LG advising him that since there is already a central legislation on that issue certain rules had to be followed or else the Bill could not be introduced. Kejriwal also wanted to have his Assembly session in the open stadium to which the LG said a clear no. Luckily he did not resign then and there. He could have waited a few more days to challenge the said laws in courts or could have followed the rules to properly introduce the Bill. And he resigned not even bothering about the much touted FIRs or his other promises to common people.

He proves another point that this writer has mentioned in these pages often. Anybody fighting corruption suddenly becomes the noblest soul, totally self-insulated, in this country and if someone complains against him/her it is a conspiracy naturally involving the rival political parties. From Baba Ramdev to a bureaucrat or policeman or lawyer or anyone attains this status of the Untouchable the moment s/he joins the fight against corruption. This is more similar to a dip in holy Ganga and cleansing yourself of all sins instantly.  Therefore, presently in our wonderfully rule-breaking country you can, immaterial if you are corrupt or not, just join the fight against corruption and attain the status of The Untouchable instantly. 

Now, the great AAP leader would start campaigning for the General Elections in his beloved streets and would continue blaming the Congress or BJP or any other rival party. Tonight he already started by putting the blame squarely on Congress and BJP for not supporting the Jan Lokpal Bill. For once these two national parties tonight are shouting rather righteously that they do always support the Jan Lokpal Bill, but did not support the way it was brought on the floor.

Arvind Kejriwal, being a ‘common’ man himself, must never underestimate the power of the common man! The common man is not always a fool and s/he can bounce back totally overturning the AAP cart. Amen!

Corruption Remix!

Article first published as Your Liability, Our Asset! on Technorati.

Recently the main opposition party of India, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), inducted into its party fold an expelled minister of the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh—the largest northern state of India. The former minister, Babu Singh Kushwaha, was expelled by the Chief Minister of the state Mayawati due to his involvement in the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam.

Under the NRHM scheme the Government of India had released around 100,000 million Indian rupees to the state to be utilized for rural health expenditures. Following murders of two Chief Medical Officers and one death under suspicious circumstances the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took up the case about two months back. Mayawati suspected Kushwaha’s involvement in the murders too apart from the gross misuse of the funds.

The BJP’s inspiration for this act was obvious. It wanted to garner more votes since assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh were round the corner. The expelled minister belonged to a particular caste and in this feudalistic state caste-politics had been the accepted norm. If the ruling party dismissed him for corruption another party would still expect to get the votes for him from the community he belonged to.  

The problem was that the BJP had been capitalizing on the anti-corruption movement all the while and had been making maximum gains by giving support to Team Anna. So now the party found itself under tremendous pressure from within the party and from all other political parties including the ruling coalition of India. To make matters worse the CBI as part of their investigations of the NRHM scam raided many places including the residence of Kushwaha just the day after his induction and an FIR was lodged against him. Rumors were doing the rounds about his impending arrest.

In an effort of damage control the BJP cried of conspiracy on the immaculate timing of the raids, but there were not many listeners. The party spokespersons hurriedly announced that the tainted inductee would not be given a ticket for fighting elections and that he would also not be used as a star campaigner.  The party still did not reverse its decision despite a palpable rift within the party. Instead, it preferred to send a huge delegation to the President of India requesting for a special session of Parliament to pass the deadlocked Lokpal Bill trying to emphasize its continued commitment to the fight against corruption. Even though it was still not clear who really sabotaged the passing of the Bill in the upper house on that night of December 29, 2011. The BJP embarrassment made Team Anna clueless about what to do in the forthcoming assembly elections. They finally announced that they would not any campaigning for the assembly elections.

For Indian politicians getting votes is such a tremendous urge that it makes them compromise on issues so often. They try to make amends the moment they feel the compromise is going to erode another vote bank.

Fight against corruption is finally subject to politics of vote.  Meanwhile CBI has made more arrests under the NRHM scam.

  

The Other Side of Midnight!

Article first published as The Other Side of Midnight on Technorati.

War cries suddenly pierced the still and freezing midnight hour of December 29, 2011 in New Delhi—capital of India. The elected representatives of the upper house of Indian Parliament came out of the house shouting ‘Murder of democracy’ or ‘A black day’ or ‘The biggest fraud of the government’. Why? Not because the anti-corruption Bill could not get passed even after nearly 13 hours of debate, but because the Bill was not allowed to be defeated.

Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian Parliament, passed the Lokpal Bill (anti-corruption Ombudsmen Bill) just before 11 in the night of December 27 after nearly 12 hours of debate. The coalition government had a working majority in the house and with a few gives and takes in terms of amendments suggested by opposition parties the Bill could be passed finally. But it had to be passed in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament, too to become law.

The scenario was very clear. Everybody knew the coalition government was a minority in terms of numbers in the upper house. Relishing this fact the opposition political parties who supported the same Bill in the lower house decided to tear into it just to gear up for the most excite prospect of a number game. The parties were also gifted a day in-between, because the formalities could not be completed and so the Bill could not be presented on December 28 as planned. One or two allies of the coalition government too could not fend off the temptation of indulging themselves in the number game.

As the debate progressed as many as 187 amendments were submitted by the opposition parties. There was so much enthusiasm that they cited one clause and suggested amendment to another in a few illustrative cases. They also announced their willingness to sit out the full night to finish off with the Bill. The winter session was extended by three days for this debate and so technically the session was valid till 12 midnight of December 29 and not beyond that.

To its consternation, the coalition government realized that with its minority status it could hardly prevent the 187 amendments from getting passed and in that eventuality the final shape of the Bill would not be the one already passed in the lower house. So the government finally took resort to the technicality factor of the session not being possible to be extended beyond the zero hour and the house was adjourned sine die. Crying murder the disappointed opposition parties condemned the government that ‘ran away from the debate’ and demanded its resignation.

Team Anna had been demanding a strong Bill all the while and it was not at all clear at midnight that the 187 amendments would indeed ensure that. In a country where corruption has taken deep roots the ‘strong’ or ‘weak’ forms of the Bill will entirely depend on how ‘strong’ or ‘weak’ the vested interest groups are. It is no secret that every political party in India serves and protects at least one vested interest group.

The government had reiterated that the debate was not over and it would be taken up again in the budget session in about two months paving way for the passing of an effective and strong Lokpal Bill. At the moment this particular result seemed to have benefited all except, of course, the eagerly waiting right-minded citizens of India. The government has got more time to think about it; the opposition has got more time to ponder and to take the issue for forthcoming assembly elections campaign and Team Anna has got another boost to start the movement anew.

As far as India is concerned it’s the numbers that always count and matter.