Articles
The way of all flesh ( and ) AAP
Dt: 16/1/14
The way of all flesh ( and ) AAP
Dr T.H.Chowdary*
Disgusted with the shameless and limitless corruption of ministers, their progeny and their hangers -on and collaborating and colluding government officials, young, educated, aspiring men and women are flocking to the support of whosoever is mounting public movements against corruption and loot of public wealth by politicians in power. Jayaprakash Narayan with his Lok Satta in Andhra Pradesh and Aravind Kejriwal with his Aam Admi Party (AAP) in Delhi are examples of warriors for good and clean governance. Kejriwal is successful within an year of his campaign to capture power in Delhi. He became the giant killer by defeating the three times Congress Chief Minister Smt. Sheila Dixit. Despite a seven year long existence and loud and strong denunciatory oratory, Jayaprakash is seeking to be a second fiddle to the seven months wonder, AAP of Kejriwal. It would be interesting to study the contrast between the two.
2. Kejriwal shot into the press and public glare first by becoming the organiser of Anna Hazare’s thamasha of televised fasts for Jan Lok Pal Bill. Then he went on to the exposure of Robert Wadra’s ( Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law of mixed racial origin – Italian mother and Indian Christian father) rapid acquisition of huge wealth, thanks to governments in the service of the Nehru-Gandhi Dynasty. In his endeavour to capture power both to end corruption and serve the aam aadmi’s (shades of Indira’s ascent through the manthra of Garibhi Hatao), he made the sweetest promises to the poor- free water, free electricity, waiver of electricity bills unpaid, regularisation of hundreds of unauthorised colonies, non-ostentatious simple life and work style for ministers, inquiry into the corruptions of the Sheila Dixist ministry withdrawal of cases against those who stole electricity. To the consternation of the Congress and the BJP, AAP won 28 seats, second to the BJP’s 32. Congress is reduced to the party of Muslims; 5 of them as MLAs in the Congress’ tally of eight.
3. Now in government, Kejriwal’s and AAP are proving to be “ THE WAY OF ALL FLESH”, slowly becoming the likes of those whom they dislodged from power. It is worthwhile to recall the doings of Congress’s luminaries soon after attaining Independence in 1947, “even as the holocaust was underway”. Bombay Chronicle (20 Aug 1947) reported that Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Nehru’s sister, as ambassador to the USSR, wished to furnish her house in Moscow with Sweedish furniture costing £ 25,000 ( equal to about Rs. 50 laksh now) and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad desired to furnish his official residence at a cost of Rs. 36,000 (now Rs. 36 lakhs). (source: page 264, “The Holocaust of Indian Partition” by Madhav Godbole). Now look at what AAP Chief Kejriwal and his ministers are settling into:
· He and his ministers moved into 5-bed room luxury flats in Delhi, his ministers are moving in Toyota Innova cars;
· The UP government has given Kejriwal 30 security personnel at his home in Ghaziabad; 2 head constables and 8 constables will be posted outside his house at all times besides two Personal Security Officers. These perks are just the beginning.
· AAP’s promise to withdraw the criminal cases against power thieves is “ under examination”.
· AAP is asking the public to furnish evidence of corruption of Congress Ministers , while before becoming the governing party, it itself levelled the corruption charges. Did it do so without proof or evidence in it s knowledge and possession?
4. Professional social activists like Medha Patkar, Arundhati Roy and angry old government officers and frustrated power and position seekers also are rallying round the AAP– for a while. The vote of the young for AAP is in vengeance against the corrupt Congress. It is good to see a Congress-free India but parties of angry people cannot build a strong united, prosperous and ethical India. Like the regional parties which are mostly casteist and proprietary like the Congress (I) AAP has no national philosophy in regard to the integrity and security and defence of India; education, science and technology, population, economics and industry and such that build a prosperous and virile nation, befitting India’s great past, present potential and future vision. They can pull down the corrupt parties with their populist promises and slogans . Their success can only be fleeting. The decimation of the corrupt and scamster parties should be the prelude to the emergency of better political parties.
5. There is a the danger of Congress once again doing to Kejriwal what it did to Prime Ministers, Charan Singh and Chandrasekhar who headed minority governments, just like the AAP – support to minority governments to ward off the main adversary and withdraw the support from outside and pull down the interloper. It will encourage the dissidents within the AAP to disintegrate that party. The evidence is already forthcoming- Sri Binni’s public accusations against Kejriwal. (809 words) –END-