The records were broken. A debutant outdoes the government
of 15 years. It was a new dawn for the common man, they said.
Braving the Delhi cold in an oversized sweater, a muffler
tied around his head and a Gandhi topi that read ‘Main hoon Aam Aadmi’, Arvind
Kejriwal rose as a hero and the sole saviour of the common man when he was sworn in as the
Chief Minister of Delhi in December, 2013.
An erstwhile government officer and an IITian,
Kejriwal’s claim to fame and power is the result of his dharnas which he’s been
holding right from the days when together with Anna Hazare, he launched a
campaign against corruption for the Jan Lokpal Bill to be passed.
The anti-corruption movement started with a furore in
many parts of the country but was a massive hit in the national capital. Anna’s
long awaited dream finally came true on 18th December 2013 when the
Centre passed the Lokpal Bill.
Hazare, from the beginning, had no political
aspirations hence he distanced himself from Kejriwal when he formed the ‘Aam Aadmi
Party’ in 2012.
Formerly criticized by many political outfits,
Kejriwal’s party, acronymed as AAP, has carved a niche for itself in the Indian
politics. In the 2013 Delhi Assembly elections, AAP outnumbered the then reigning
government of Congress but lagged behind BJP, who had the highest number of
seats.
Inspite of shouting anti-Congress slogans before and
during the elections, the AAP formed the government in Delhi in coalition with
Congress. This raised many eyebrows but the party was clear on its agenda, that
is, to work for the interests of the ‘aam aadmi’ and that the party cannot be
taken granted by the Congress.
After assuming office, Kejriwal took up the job of
catering to the needs of the public. For the same, he announced to provide them
with free water and electricity. He kept his promise and Delhi households now
can have 20 kilolitres of free water a month. Also, he announced a Rs. 220 crore subsidy to slash the
consumer’s power bill by half for up to 400 units.
Till this point,
everything seemed alright. But what stuck as an eyesore for many people is the
fact that their beloved ‘aam’ leader was gradually becoming a ‘dramebaaz’.
He rejected the
government bungalow, reserved for the CM of Delhi; even declined the two duplex
flats that were offered to him. He garnered the tile of being a ‘show-off’ for
this act of his. Many events followed which questioned his governance in Delhi.
Very recently, AAP
member and Delhi’s Law minister Somnath Bharti raided the residence of African
nationals in the Khirkee extension, accusing them of drug and sex trafficking.
He had approached the Delhi police to do so but they denied stating that they
lacked a warrant. Somnath’s allegations turned out to be false. The four women
he caught alleged that the mob led by Somnath threatened and molested them.
Somnath terms these allegations untrue.
There was a lot of
pressure on Kejriwal to sack Somnath from the party for his vigilantism. But
Mr. Kejriwal turned the tables and rather sat on a dharna and demanded the
suspension of the police officers who refused to conduct the raid. May be for
Kejriwal, his party members and himself are always right. Apna kaam banta, bhaad mein jaaye janta - these words are always on
his mind it seems.
It’s appalling for the
common man to learn that the leader they had elected has been misusing his
power and has inclined towards people who’ve indirectly promoted racism.
Kejriwal has also launched a nationwide drive, wherein one can become a member of the Aam Aadmi Party. This drive, named as ‘Main Bhi Aam Aadmi’, hopes to reach out to the people residing in Delhi as well as other parts of the country by rendering them free membership. AAP urged the people to register online, through messages or email, to be a part of the ‘change’.
Yet again, even this
move had many loopholes which resulted in many fake registrations, including
the likes of ‘Narendra Modi’, ‘Rahul Gandhi’ and even Hollywood actor ‘Angeline
Jolie’. AAP says that is has scrutinized and removed the illegal registrations
but only the test of time would reveal the ‘real’ supporters of the party.
Even after being the
national capital, Delhi’s image is blemished in the international arena as
women’s safety has become a major issue following the Nirbhaya rape and murder
case, Gudiya rape case and very recently, the gang-rape of a 51 year old Danish
woman shamed the city.
It would be a herculean
task for Kejriwal to reinstate the faith of women in this metro city. What
shall he do to ensure the safety of women in the city as the CM is the question
of the hour.
Ever since Kejriwal
took to the office, many eyebrows were raised questioning his ability to govern
citing the lack of experience his party members and he has. These doubts did
not prove futile as the Kejriwal government failed to impress the Delhi people
as their expectations and demands were not met.
The biggest blot on the
AAP government came when Union Home Minster Sushilkumar Shinde called Mr.
Kejriwal ‘Veda Mukhyamantri’, which means ‘Mad Chief Minister’ as Shinde thinks
Kejriwal is being ‘ignorant’ in running the affairs of the government.
Even TV sensation Rakhi
Sawant was compared to Kejriwal by Shiv Sena stating that Sawant can govern
better than him. Sawant too ridiculed him by calling him an ‘item boy’.
In the long run, Kejriwal’s
credibility and reliability as the CM of an already troubled state is the real
test of his capability of governance. Certainly, this is the time when he keeps
aside his ‘dharnas’ and get into some real action.
