The Facetiousness of Arvind Kejriwal
I am Big Brother - Arvind Kejriwal in an Accusatory Moment at the Auto Rally in Delhi (courtesy Financial Express) |
The last ten days have been spent in an unnecessary wrangle, where the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi have shifted from purging people from the Party to finding newer more exciting ways to stay relevant in the media. A ten day temporary posting has been selected for the battleground, and swords have been drawn against constitutional bodies, using such aide-de-camps as five star legal activists to prove that Mr Arvind Kejriwal is being prevented from ushering in utopia into Delhi. Of course, the truth is far removed from what Mr Kejriwal and his menagerie are insistent to obscure to the greatest extent possible.
Facts fly in the face of argument, as is evident from the chain of events on record. Firstly, the particular IAS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territorie cadre that the Chief Minister of Delhi had requested for the post of Chief Secretary was transferred to Delhi from Goa by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, thus already giving him the officers he wanted. In the meantime, a ten day period was to be filled by appointing a temporary Chief Secretary, and two IAS officers were shortlisted out of a pool of four for the same. Seniority was not the issue in appointing the acting Chief Secretary however; it was a delay till May 15, 2015 by the Government of Delhi in responding to the Lt. Governor's suggestions that Mr Najeeb Jung, the honorable L.G. of Delhi, went ahead and announced the appointment. In the meantime, Rip van Winkle woke up and realized to his horror that governing Delhi is little more than being the mayor of a glorified municipality, and decided to take head on the appointment row by slandering Ms. Shakuntala Gamlin roundedly as being a crony capitalist sympathizer in the garb of Delhi's Power Secretary for so many years. Of course, true to the style of an Orwellian Animal Farm, Mr Kejriwal refused to point out key facts, like the Delhi government being a a board member shareholder of the power distribution companies (discoms) of Delhi.
Whatever one may say, the underlying fact remains that Mr Kejriwal just realized how little he can really do in Delhi. After having promised a flight to paradise aboard Pegasus to Delhiites, he has woken up to the grim reality of the clipped wings of Pegasus. To expect anything of him being an antagonist may be unfair to him. However, truth of the matter remains that none of his promises have taken off ground so far. Having been caught in the maze of authority and jurisdiction, Mr Kejriwal is now squirming for a way out, and the way things move, it would not be astonishing to see him leave the chair in a huff again. Moreover, there has been a drop in the party funds along with the ugly press that he personally garnered thanks to his pursuit of purges of key founders through the route of slander and defamation. A media savvy Kejriwal realized that there is thorough disappointment with him and his government for doing practically nothing, and he needed a dead horse to flog to regain importance in the bazaar, albeit as a mad megalomaniac. Playing the victim card is an old, yawn inducing habit of Mr Kejriwal. However, a trap of his own making is hurting him here. If Mr. Arvind Kejriwal claims he did not know the rules despite becoming Chief Minister for the second time, it speaks volumes of his attitude to governance and administration. Trying to be another Mamata Bannerjee without having a semblance of her political clout is facetious on Mr Kejriwal's part. So while Delhi sweats out in power cuts to satisfy the ego of a dictatorial man, the drama will continue in front of the cameras, much to the chagrin of the people who voted for the Aam Aadmi Party, full of khaas khaas members.
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