‘Corruption’, a word we get to hear more than a couple of times every day in India, more so because we face it, feel it, get perturbed by it and sometimes be a part of it in our day to day lives. The concept of ‘Idealism’ creeps inside us when we are bogged down and are not able to get the work done for ourselves. What about others? What about the poor who strive hard to earn two meals a day? The world has become so self-centered that we seldom think about the interests of the society as a whole.
Our nation i.e. the world’s
largest democracy was slowly sprouting into an oligarchy, with one firangi family from Congress party making
a hash of hundred and twenty billion of us in the form of never ending scams. The
year 2011 witnessed a change in the dynamics of Indian politics with rise of the
anarchist Anna Hazare & his ‘India against Corruption (IAC)’ movement which
really cared about the interests of our society. A single person is all it
takes to start a movement. While the world laments ‘Who will & how will’,
the change-maker takes a small step towards making it possible & as it
should be. Although the real change maker was Anna Hazare but Arvind Kejriwal
cashed in on the wave. No one would have thought that an avid supporter and perceived
right hand of Anna will go on to outshine him one day. The IIT-Kharagpur
alumnus had the choice of leading a lavish corporate lifestyle but he had other
ambitions in mind, maybe it was the never ending zeal to serve the society or maybe
it was something else. 26th November 2012 was the day when Arvind
Kejriwal dared Anna by venturing into politics and the fledgling ‘Aam Aadmi
Party’ or AAP was born from the crucible of IAC. A new identity with a new name
was there but the mission was old. The hullabaloo was such that it swept Indian
middle class off its feet. Here was a man who challenged the old school of thought
in politics.
There is no doubt that Kejriwal’s
track record is a true reflection of honesty and courage. Today, millions of Indians
vouch for his sincerity and integrity. We are short memoried emotional people
who tend to get carried away very easily. This happened with Delhi too when it
voted for AAP whole heartedly. Arvind Kejriwal succeeded in touching the hearts
of Delhiites. But, the decision of AAP agreeing to take the support of
plutocratic Congress party sparked off many controversies. Initially, I was
also one of the millions who emotionally became a member of AAP by paying off a
nominal fee of ten bucks but my trust on the party started to rust out with the
fast spreading rumor of Congress being the mastermind behind the birth of AAP. I
still do not hold a firm opinion about Kejriwal and his party but I am sure
that his stint as Delhi CM will clear out most of the doubts.
Like me, there are many others
who are unsure about Kejriwal and his party. With the upcoming Lok Sabha
elections, it is extremely important for us to be sure of the party before
casting our vote to it. Are we going to become a banana republic? Is Aam Aadmi
Party a brain child of Congress? Is Congress trying to eat away the share of
BJP vote bank in the form of AAP? These are the questions that come to my mind
when I hear about AAP pulling up its socks for the Lok Sabha elections. There
are a total of 67 political parties in India out of which Congress and BJP are
the two most prominent ones at the national level. We have not seen any other regional
party ascend as dramatically as Aam Aadmi Party. The kind of bandwidth it has
shown in Delhi elections seems almost magical.
During ‘India against Corruption’
days, Kejriwal had sworn on his children that he will never enter into politics
but he backtracked. After the foundation of AAP, he again vowed to not getting
into any coalition with either Congress or BJP but he again backtracked. It may
have also happened because you need to get sucked into the dirty system first,
if you intend to clean it out. Arvind Kejriwal may be a man with clear
intentions and with a stable head on his shoulders but he alone cannot do it.
His party men must also be aligned to his goals. The
sweeping change of the sort Kejriwal seeks to claim is to be accepted in spirit
by all inside and outside his political party. It is then that the solution to
the corruption can be ultimately found. And it is because of this that the AAP
movement, noble and well-intentioned, but incorrectly aligned amongst the party
men, may well flounder. Till now, his words and dharnas have been speaking louder than his actions but the real
acid test goes on in Delhi.
The
question of whether it is a real ‘Aam Aadmi Party’ or a ‘Khaas Aadmi
Party’ of Congress still remains a mystery which will slowly unfold in front of
the nation.
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