Comment on AAP
Today is 12th Jan 2014. I’m risking expressing a contra view as I see the all familiar signs of the AAP movement falling into the pitfalls of politics and losing its way.
Yesterday the electronic media was full of news concerning Arvind Kejriwal’s roof top speech to the people of Delhi. He was addressing the scores of people who came to meet him with their grievances. The country is engulfed in an AAP wave and the AAP leaders too seem to be relishing every moment. This is what scares me. Some years ago one VP Singh rode the wave on anti corruption plank and became the Prime Minister. He infact told in one of his sabha’s that he has in his pocket a paper containing the bank account number in which the Bofors bribes were deposited and which points to Rajiv Gandhi. And that it would take only 2 weeks to nail the guilty. He won the election and then let all of us down by not giving results in Bofors and imposing upon us the Mandal Commission recommendations. Till that time most of people of this country had overcome caste barriers and this one action of his ignited the caste wars yet again and divided the country.
AAP has announced free water, and a bizarre subsidy-based cut in electricity tariffs in Delhi. This will win them support from their vote bank but it could cost thousands of crores a year for the state. They say they are following their election manifesto. Who is the AAP’s vote bank? They seem to have satisfied themselves that the jhuggi-jhopdi wallas and middle class are their vote banks? But what about India as a vote bank? If the AAP’s irrational tariff decision is extended pan-India, the cost could be lakhs of crores a year. Such moves will wreck havoc on the country’s finances. Subsidies are essential for those who are deprived of the basic essentials in life. But the brazen manner in which AAP is approaching electricity subsidy will send the wrong signal to private players who will avoid investing in India’s power sector. Is it going to help India? Change cannot be brought overnight and imposing changes will not make them lasting.
AAP has also proposed 90% reservation for Delhi students in Delhi colleges. Why does each political party play the reservation card? Is reservation the ultimate innovation to provide opportunity? And what happens to bright students from other states who want to get admitted in some of these prestigious colleges? This is what Raj Thackeray had proposed and at that time there was hue and cry. Now no one seems to be saying anything! How hypocritical can we get society? AAP will get votes for this but then what about India? Does AAP really care? Or is it just a socialist party oscillating between Left and Right? I would tend to believe that AAP is doing these things keeping the Lok Sabha elections as their target. But if AAP manages to get even 50 seats pan India, we would surely see another hung Parliament and the Delhi story repeated. For whatever he may be Modi has certainly put Gujarat on the progressive path and attracted investment. The Aam Aadmi wants jobs not subsidies. AAP is tracing the path that Nehru did in the 50’s. Pranab Mukherjee as the previous Finance Mister pushed us to the 70’s and now AAP will take us to the 50’s and 60’s with their bizarre economic policies.
His party members Prashant Bhushan has made a dangerous statement on Kashmir. Even the respected Yogendra Yadav could not resist expressing comments increasing reservations in Haryana. Kumar Vishwas is brazen in his words when he challenges Modi and Rahul Gandhi. These may be their personal views, but as a citizen of this country who is seeing a glimmer of hope in AAP, these comments make me sit back and think if the AAP is really different from Congress and BJP?
I just hope that I’m proved wrong and my faith is restored in this movement of the common man. At an emotional level I want this guy to succeed so that it will teach those in power that the common man indeed has an alternative. As a movement my expectation from this team (AAP is still a team of well intentioned honest men and women) is that they take us as a nation to the next level in governance.
Yesterday the electronic media was full of news concerning Arvind Kejriwal’s roof top speech to the people of Delhi. He was addressing the scores of people who came to meet him with their grievances. The country is engulfed in an AAP wave and the AAP leaders too seem to be relishing every moment. This is what scares me. Some years ago one VP Singh rode the wave on anti corruption plank and became the Prime Minister. He infact told in one of his sabha’s that he has in his pocket a paper containing the bank account number in which the Bofors bribes were deposited and which points to Rajiv Gandhi. And that it would take only 2 weeks to nail the guilty. He won the election and then let all of us down by not giving results in Bofors and imposing upon us the Mandal Commission recommendations. Till that time most of people of this country had overcome caste barriers and this one action of his ignited the caste wars yet again and divided the country.
AAP has announced free water, and a bizarre subsidy-based cut in electricity tariffs in Delhi. This will win them support from their vote bank but it could cost thousands of crores a year for the state. They say they are following their election manifesto. Who is the AAP’s vote bank? They seem to have satisfied themselves that the jhuggi-jhopdi wallas and middle class are their vote banks? But what about India as a vote bank? If the AAP’s irrational tariff decision is extended pan-India, the cost could be lakhs of crores a year. Such moves will wreck havoc on the country’s finances. Subsidies are essential for those who are deprived of the basic essentials in life. But the brazen manner in which AAP is approaching electricity subsidy will send the wrong signal to private players who will avoid investing in India’s power sector. Is it going to help India? Change cannot be brought overnight and imposing changes will not make them lasting.
AAP has also proposed 90% reservation for Delhi students in Delhi colleges. Why does each political party play the reservation card? Is reservation the ultimate innovation to provide opportunity? And what happens to bright students from other states who want to get admitted in some of these prestigious colleges? This is what Raj Thackeray had proposed and at that time there was hue and cry. Now no one seems to be saying anything! How hypocritical can we get society? AAP will get votes for this but then what about India? Does AAP really care? Or is it just a socialist party oscillating between Left and Right? I would tend to believe that AAP is doing these things keeping the Lok Sabha elections as their target. But if AAP manages to get even 50 seats pan India, we would surely see another hung Parliament and the Delhi story repeated. For whatever he may be Modi has certainly put Gujarat on the progressive path and attracted investment. The Aam Aadmi wants jobs not subsidies. AAP is tracing the path that Nehru did in the 50’s. Pranab Mukherjee as the previous Finance Mister pushed us to the 70’s and now AAP will take us to the 50’s and 60’s with their bizarre economic policies.
His party members Prashant Bhushan has made a dangerous statement on Kashmir. Even the respected Yogendra Yadav could not resist expressing comments increasing reservations in Haryana. Kumar Vishwas is brazen in his words when he challenges Modi and Rahul Gandhi. These may be their personal views, but as a citizen of this country who is seeing a glimmer of hope in AAP, these comments make me sit back and think if the AAP is really different from Congress and BJP?
I just hope that I’m proved wrong and my faith is restored in this movement of the common man. At an emotional level I want this guy to succeed so that it will teach those in power that the common man indeed has an alternative. As a movement my expectation from this team (AAP is still a team of well intentioned honest men and women) is that they take us as a nation to the next level in governance.
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