Is he a pathological liar, no he lies as chronically as others in the competitive politics. Is he more corrupt, no he is as corrupt as other tinpot politicians. Is he hungrier for power, no he has an appetite as that of other scavengers in the game. Is he more intolerant of criticism, no he is as vengeful as others who hold similar positions. Is he more uncomfortable with competent people around him, no he detests them as much as other insecure politicians.
So, what is the hullabaloo about him.
Arvind Kejriwal turned a politician in 2012. In choosing to transition to politics from a civil-society initiative against corruption, he betrayed his original mentor and rode roughshod over the collective opinion of his saner, apolitical associates. Today he is many notches above the run-of-the-mill politicians on counts that are nothing but negative. He is guilty of single-handedly destroying the prospects of future initiatives by the civil society to set right the wrongs. The shenanigans of this mercenary have made a large section of the citizenry cynical about the honesty of reform-movements and the people helming them. In pursuit of his personal political goals, he sodomized well-intentioned Indians who, after very long, had powered a non-political movement.
He needs to go, for good.
His promise of transparent and inclusive functioning in the political space was only to lure professionals, eminent personalities, good citizens and aspirational youth. He targeted massive public equity, which he eventually got, through their coming on board. Having worked with them for some time, he realized that their wisdom, multi-disciplinary experience and principled-stand were coming in the way of his personal agenda. They held him back every time he crossed the line. Hugely uncomfortable, he started getting rid of them one by one. Some were thrown out like flies in the ointment. Using bouncers, some were physically removed. Many self-respecting associates left on their own when they realized that he was running a cabal in the guise of a political party. In pursuit of unbridled power and control, he ensured exit of the best brains to surround himself with cerebrally-challenged associates with no traits other than doing his bidding.
It’s ironical that Kejriwal’s’ public life has its roots in a movement against corruption. It is corruption that his politics is stuck to. It started with acceptance of large donations from people of unverifiable whereabouts or dubious credentials. To everyone’s surprise, two unknown-but-rich individuals were nominated by him to Rajya Sabha ignoring the candidature of some highly qualified associates. Next, he turned a blind eye to multiple instances of corruption e.g., purchase of medicines, mohalla-clinics, construction of class-rooms and offline water-supply.
The mother of all scams was the Sharaab-ghotala (the liquor scam). Kejriwal, predictably, brushed the scam off as a conspiracy by his detractors. Though the best minds have studied the issue and have spoken on it, some basic questions linger. What was the need to change the old Excise Policy. Having changed the same, what prompted relaxation of some provisions in the new policy whilst awarding contracts. If the new policy was well-intentioned, why did he scrap it and went back to the old one. Why did he skip eight summons to appear before the investigation agencies (which he did only after the courts compelled him to). How come he conveniently misplaced the mobile phone used by him during the scam. Presuming the scam was a conspiracy, why was he jailed for five months by the courts. Why did he continue to operate as Chief Minster from the Jail and did not resign. Even after his release from jail, on bail, why did the courts impose unprecedented restrictions on him. Why did he resign from the Chief Ministership only around the election time. Why did he unabashedly announce that he would once again assume Chief Ministership if he won the elections, knowing fully well the restrictions imposed by the courts would continue. The purpose here is not to discuss Kejriwal’s omissions & commissions but to point out that the self-proclaimed crusader against corruption has too many skeletons in his cupboard.
Sheeshmahal (the palace of a residence he built for himself) was not an error in judgement as some of his empathizers would want us to believe. It was his I-give-a-damn moment. Why should Kejriwal, holding a high position, deny himself high-end luxuries in life if it comes at someone else’s expense. We all saw his coterie resorting to whataboutery every time the question was raised as to how could a leader representing the poor build a palace for himself, costing the exchequer whopping Rs. 34 crores. It’s the same Kejriwal who had positioned himself as poor-people’s leader and had sworn to keep himself from the trappings of a public office, one of which was a big residence. The details of obscenely luxurious items in the palace, already public, need not be repeated here to drive home the message that Kejriwal’s poor were insulted and mocked at by Kejriwal himself. It didn’t end there. Like Frank Abagnale Jr. in the Steven Spielberg movie Catch-Me-If-You-Can, he broke rules and defied the system vicariously. Then there was this last straw that broke the back of Kejriwal’s’ camel of self-proclaimed honesty. The palace was built during the coronavirus pandemic when the poor were literally begging for medicines, oxygen and food. I am not sure if even the most inconsiderate and insensitive among the politicians can explain this callousness. Big deal. Why single him out when it is commonly known that a contemporary had gone far beyond and built a bigger palace. But, I recollect, no one other than Kejriwal had ever made any claims about being God’s gift to the mankind nor projected himself as revolutionarily different from the other mainstream politicians.
Mention of the instances of corruption above is not to highlight corruption per se but to bring out the duplicity of the person. Twisted as he is, he deliberately complicated even the basic delivery-agenda that his position carried. The questions on scarcity of drinking water, paraali-induced environmental pollution, frequent water-logging, pollution of Yamuna river, mohalla-clinics becoming pot-smoking joints, lacs of 9th & 11th standard students failing internal exams etc. were met with convoluted answers. Invariably others (i.e., central government, LG, neighbouring states, bureaucracy, investigative agencies, local police, media etc.) were blamed and called colluders who wanted him to fail. A morbid mind, he took it to the extreme with his allegation that Haryana had poisoned Yamuna river (used for supplying drinking water to Delhiites) to defeat him in the recently concluded assembly election. Evidently, his persecution complex has now turned into a paranoia.
Kejriwal is an artist. He makes statements in public only to deny them later, without qualms, knowing fully well that in today’s tech-driven world every public statement leaves irrefutable digital footprints. He peddles and repeats falsehoods, hoping that the public would reconcile to the same eventually. How long would it have taken, for example, to make public the documents in evidence of schools and hospitals he claimed to have built during his tenure and put all doubts to rest. He didn’t do that. He continues to make misleading claims on a host of other issues, oblivious of the fact that there is verifiable physicality to most such claims. Having said that, why cry foul at Kejriwal when there are examples galore of politicians of the same ilk who have gotten away with murders. Well, no other politician has ever claimed proprietary over utmost truthfulness and transparency in public life like the man in blue (shirt & Santro, I mean).
India is reasonably kind-hearted and has forgotten (if not forgiven) many who wronged it. Invaders, looters, marauders and colonialists came from outside, wounded its civilization, looted its resources and killed its people. Bearing no strong ill will against them, India has consigned them to the pages of its history. Many homegrown kings, darbaris, historians, religionists, politicians, businessmen, educators, thought-leaders etc. undermined the interests of the country in varying forms and degrees. India saw through them and dealt them appropriate responses. But how do you deal with a megalomaniac who messes with the ideological aspirations a country, damages its people emotionally and destroys the possibilities of good people coming together for an honest cause. Well, you make them irrelevant.
Kejriwals need to be rendered irrelevant.