A week has passed since the Delhi elections have brought up a hung verdict. And while the elected parties have resumed new innings in all the other 4 states that went to polls with Delhi, there is every sign the nation’s capital territory will not see a new government anytime soon.
The reason for this deadlock is the intransigent stand taken by AAP, the fledgling political party representing Delhi’s aam admi. Depending on which side of the fence you’re sitting on, the AAP is either the spoiler in Delhi’s politics or the messiah of the deprived sections of the society.
To me AAP is like the political watchdog, the exact antidote that India so urgently needs for a long, long time. It’s like the IRDAs and SEBIs of the financial sectors whose primary objective ought to be cleansing the country’s political system and upholding the multi-dimensional facets of the country.
Right now there is a lot of focus on rooting out corruption, especially at high places. And justifiably so because who would forget the huge financial scams we have been witnessing for the past few years!
But if you ask me, the bigger, rather the biggest challenge before our country is to covet and nurture the inclusiveness of our country because that is where the real strength of our country lies. It’s not without reason that when Tagore wrote Jana Gana Mana more than 100 years back (it was sung for the first time 102 years back at a Congress plenary session), he stressed on people’s power and on inclusiveness because he had felt its enormity to bind together the people of diverse cultural and ethnic identities who live in this country and consider it their own.
Unfortunately, the inclusiveness is still a distant dream. In a recent article in A Jazeera, the writer points out how the poor Muslim women in Bengal’s villages masquerade as Hindus for getting jobs. The same picture prevails in many other parts in India, but truth be told it’s not only the Muslims that face discrimination in their ‘own country’.
One wouldn’t forget the news of racial discriminations against the north-east people at the nation’s capital (and elsewhere too) a year and a half back. And the anti-Bihari sentiment so carefully nourished and sustained (mainly) in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra is now a well-documented essay in the Wikipedia.
The most important point therefore is what could and must be done to ensure the inclusive character of India. Because remember corruptions and scandals can be dealt with law in a short time. But if inequality exists (and it does) based on caste, race, religion, etc. even so many decades after independence, then it surely is a matter of grave concern. It is here that AAP’s relevance should come into focus.
Since only political parties form the bridge between the ruler and the ruling class in a democracy like India for delivering the common goods, and considering the fact that many of these parties still consider favouring their own narrow ‘constituencies’ to occupy power, we need the omnipresence of an entity like Aam Admi Party to enforce principled thoughts and actions.
For that to happen, let me be a bit myopic and cynical. If wishes were horses I’d dearly want AAP to remain apolitical and yet be a secular political party…whatever that means.
As I write this, I come across the interview of Dr Kunal Saha in The Telegraph. The tireless crusader that he is, it is indeed welcome that he ‘wants to do something for AAP’. If he does, one hopes he starts his political career from Calcutta.
Cheers to that.
[Image above courtesy this source]
No Option ?
Arvind Kejriwal is left with no option but to form the government in Delhi
By agreeing with almost all the conditions stipulated by him , Congress has left him with no excuse , not to form a government
Although it is difficult to say what motivated Congress to accept AAP’s conditions , here is my guess :
> As in the case of ” Tainted MPs ” ordinance , Rahul Gandhi forced the
issue , because he too , genuinely believes in decentralization of
democracy
> By hook or by crook , Congress wants to keep BJP out of power in Delhi
> Congress may have realized that in case of a re-poll , it would end up
losing even its current 8 seats . A terrible omen for 2014 elections !
> In any case , on most of the issues raised by AAP , there is a lot of
commonality in the poll manifestos of Congress and AAP
Not accepting AAP’s conditions would be tantamount to saying ,
” But our poll promises hold good only if we are voted to power ” !
> In view of the 2014 national elections , Congress wants AAP to remain
pre-occupied with governance of Delhi , effectively putting a brake on its
national ambitions
> By agreeing , Congress wants to divert the attention of the people from
its murky past and let them focus on the re-invented image of ,
” Congress – the Reformer ”
> If , with its backing , AAP succeeds in delivering good governance in the
next 6 months , Congress can share the credit of being , ” Pro Poor
People ”
That would enable Congress to tell 760 million voters ,
” We can deliver good governance nation-wide, if you vote for us ”
At this point of time , trying to figure out the motives of Congress is irrelevant
It is entirely possible that , on the condition of strong Lok Ayukt in Delhi , counter-condition of Congress , could be a trap for AAP to walk in !
But knowing that fully , AAP must take the risk !
When he went to attend the second Round Table Conference in London ( 1931 ) , Mahatma Gandhi realized that it was going to be a failure
He was acutely aware of the trap laid by the British
But he saw that the hopes of millions of Indians fighting his non-violent movement , were riding on his trip
So he went
My uncle , poet Meghani sent following poem to Mahatma :
” Even as you know the futility of your mission ,
O Bapu ,
Drink this last cup of hemlock ( poison ),
You ,
Who have drank oceans of poison
Served by the British ,
Do not throw away this spoonful ”
Poor people of Delhi are saying something similar to Arvind , today !
* hemen parekh ( 17 Dec 2013 / Mumbai )
@Hemen, as we discuss the issue, Delhi is most probably going to see President’s Rule. So, is AAP successful in its ‘mission’? So far yes, because it has shaken the political parties in their roots, and it has unwaveringly conveyed that systems and mechanisms must change. There just cannot be any status quo any more.
One may explain it differently, but the fact that BJP didn’t claim power despite being just 3 seats short of majority is a significant point to consider, and it had to take recourse to high moral ground to let the chance slip away.
The point, as I wanted to explain, is that the issue of corruption going forward will have a short shelf-life. And the reason is we already have the mechanisms like the RTI, the Lokpal, etc. in place to check the malice in the public place.
The bigger issue is inequality in our country, and to remove this it will take a sustained effort. Remember Kejriwal often said…we are not going to seek votes on the basis of caste, religion, etc. Inherent in that saying is the unequivocal message for inclusiveness, and there lies the hope of a new India.
To me it is significant that AAP doesn’t have Kiran Bedi in their fold if only for the reason that she wanted AAP to be closer to BJP (the ‘lesser’ evil) which obviously AAP didn’t want.
It’ll be interesting to see how the situations unfold in the next few years.