A tug of war between the states and the centre is neither new nor uncommon nor unexpected but what happened in New Delhi was something definitely fresh for a student of politics in India. Even the Constitution makers were aware of the complexities and hence provided for a detailed layout for the Centre-State relationship. Despite that Ajoy Mukherjee of West Bengal and M Karunanidhi of Tamil Nadu sat on dharna while occupying the chair of the chief minster of the respective states. But, there is one notable difference between Kejriwal and the rest. That is, he runs government whose jurisdiction criss-crosses with that of the centre over the same territory. This is what precisely becomes the favourable ground for Kejriwalian brand of politics.
In the last ten years almost all the non-UPA chief ministers have accused the centre of adopting a biased attitude to their states. But, non of them sat on dharna for this. Petitions and letters were considered sufficient. But, then Arvind Kejriwal claims to bring a newness in Indian politics. True to his claim, Kejriwal has resorted to quite a few new tactics to push for his demands. The latest manifestation was his dharna at the Rail Bhawan in New Delhi.
In the last ten years almost all the non-UPA chief ministers have accused the centre of adopting a biased attitude to their states. But, non of them sat on dharna for this. Petitions and letters were considered sufficient. But, then Arvind Kejriwal claims to bring a newness in Indian politics. True to his claim, Kejriwal has resorted to quite a few new tactics to push for his demands. The latest manifestation was his dharna at the Rail Bhawan in New Delhi.
Though his government is new and no judgement should be passed on Kejriwal government, it is clearly visible that he has found it more difficult than he might have imagined to run a government. This becomes more difficult for him because he promised almost everything under the sky and that too in a flash if he won the elections. Congress's defeat and support to AAP later propelled him into the chair of chief minister. But, even in the chair, he leads a pack of agitators not administrators. The biggest proof of this is that even the ministers ensure that media especially the TV media is there when they are out in the public. This clearly shows that they don't want to work without being noticed- a sign of credit hungry people- an aam aadmi trait. Performing one's duty under the PR lenses is not what is ideal for running a government.
Secondly, the Team Kejriwal thinks that it is the sole custodian of righteousness. Whatever Kejriwal says or does is right and everything else is incorrect and corrupt. They have went on to say that people in Congress and BJP are actually "pimps". One may have the right to claim whatever s/he wishes to but how can one justify labelling everyone else as despised. This can not be what they claim to be champions of, democracy.
The latest showdown-followed-by-climb-down episode emanated from the political expediency of Team Kejriwal for saving its face and its errant minister. There is no doubt that Kejriwal wanted to save his minister because he could not possibly have been so naive not to understand that what Somnath Bharti did was wrong and constituted a crime under the IPC provided he still believes in this code. He claimed that one of the reasons for his dharna was the rape of the Danish woman. But, I don't think we need to revisit his statement just after the incident came to the light. He was not at all forthcoming as to what should be done. But, when Somnath Bharti incident happened, he thought of exploiting the situation for his benefit.
There is no denying that Kejriwal does not find his job a cakewalk and also knows that after six months there is any guarantee for its longevity. He has to achieve at least two objective before the candle goes off. One, to showcase a couple of populist decisions- water and electricity have done a part of it for his followers, though critics may disagree. Second, to gain sympathy which may help him in the Lok Sabha polls. So, his nationally televised showdown-followed-by-climb-down dharna was perfectly designed for the Lok Sabha polls while his managers were touring the nation. The dharna also proved that he has mastered the art of camouflaging. He proclaimed victory and made even many of journalists to believe that the Centre knelt down before the might of Kejriwal, while he knew that he was pushed to the wall. So, in his retreat he announced victory!
