AAP's AALAAP of ANARCHY‏

 It is very rare that in the books of history you find someone who is both a protester and a successful administrator of societies.  It is rather easier to protest and oppose than take upon oneself the silent responsibility of social governance. .  

 I am talking about the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) and its reigning high priest,  Arvind Kejriwal.  His chronically hoarse throat amply suggests what he is good at and where he should draw the line upon his personal ambitions.   At the first instance of accepting power, he ran away into wilderness within 49 days, disowning publicly the responsibilities he fought for and secured.  And now within a month of occupying the office, he has made this shocking decision of not holding any portfolio, besides running away for 2 weeks into a naturopathy centre for rest and relaxation.  He is the only administrator in the world who has this luxury of an office without responsibility and a leave of absence of 2 weeks within the 4 weeks of securing a job.

 The opportunism and irresponsibility of the AAP starts from its high priest and trickles down through his coterie to every part of its organizational set-up.  As a first step of establishing internal unaccountability, chaos and anarchy, AAP has easily done away with its own conscience keepers like Prashanth Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav.  Mayank Gandhi is also now on his way out.  The internal coterie of Kejriwal will now consist of those voices that are brash, anti-social and anti-development like that of Medha Patkar, Ashish Khetan and the like.  The 70 point programme promised in the Manifesto has become an orphan and the second in command Manish Sisodia is clueless of how to implement it.  The office bearers of AAP, including the topline leaders are engaged in securing for themselves the luxury of escort, VVIP status, bungalows and all those privileges that they raised their voice against.

 Delhi has to brace up itself for a tough time of anarchy that is lurking around the corner.  A couple of  journalists and poets have taken over the Government without a clue as to how to govern and how to manage the high offices in democracy.  Come summer, power cuts and water shortages will galore.  Come rains, the floods will devastate the capital.  Kejriwal will remain unattached and unbound by any portfolio of office in his ploy to remain a high priest and holy cow of politics.  The thinkers and ideologues will remain increasingly marginalized.  The loud speaking coterie will rule recklessly and ruin the city.

But unfortunately, the people are bound to this unfolding and agonizing aalaap of anarchy for the next five years in Delhi.

V K Saxena

National Council for Civil Liberties,
Ahmedabad

Kejriwal- Medha :Birds of the same feather have flocked together, once again, yet again.

Even when Arvind Kejriwal began explicitly exposing his core competence of creating chaos and running away from civilized ways of problem solving, his party became very attractive to Medha Patkar.  She found a natural ally whose violent and street-fighting manners were only equal to her.  The New Delhi sit-in had every sign of  Patkar flavour - no justification, no sophistication and no civilization.  It was a crudely attempted execution of mob mobilization that fell flat by its own weight.  And even in that fall, the wrestler got up and walked away believing that his moustache did not gather dust.

Similarities between Kejriwal and Patkar do not end there.  They both are vehemently opposed to national development in the guise of protecting the aam aadmi.  They both outwardly oppose foreign influence and investments in the country but have meticulously laid out pipelines to foreign countries for the funds to flow into their coffers.  They both have no respect for the judiciary, executive or parliament.  They share a vision of democracy, which is just collecting some lumpen elements and creating a furore, terming the misguided mob as democracy.  It is interesting that they both squat wherever they want and believe that governance and democracy begins from where they breathe.  There is a certain air of authoritarian and dictatorial attitude to both.

But in all such unions of vested interests, the end is disastrous.  Kejriwal has to recognize this and should see that his end is near when Medha's hand is in his.  Their coming together reminds me of the story of Mohini-Bhasmasura.  Here too, the fate would be the same.  Mohini will teach Bhasmasura to burn himself to ashes.  Kejriwal, who is already playing with fire has had an equally combustible street fighter friend with him now.

We knew that AAP will only be a guest for a few days.  But I never knew that they would place fire on their own attire so early in their political career.

V K Saxena

President

NCCL

Ahmedabad