Anna is right in questioning Kejriwal

In the morning’s post (‘Corporate Bank Politics’), I had written, “Though I do not agree with certain aspects of the AAP poll campaign…” As today Anna Hazare has asked Arvind Kejriwal whether the donations (collected during Anna’s 16-day fast in August 2011 at Delhi’s Ram Lila Maidan) are being used for poll purposes, I also wish to state my reservations about the AAP poll campaign.

Please have a look at this excerpt from my letter emailed to India Against Corruption 18 months ago following the decision of some Team Anna members to form a political party to fight corruption. At that time formation of the Aam Aadmi Party was still 4-5 months away.

The excerpt: “I think we can effectively challenge a system from outside. Once we become part of the system, we become prone to do compromises on our stated principles or agenda for surviving in that system.  Needless to say, Team Anna as a political outfit would need a comfortable majority to enact laws, which, as things stand today, is a Himalayan task to muster. Obviously, to succeed in the numbers game, they would have to compromise with their anti-corruption agenda…” 

Now, after observing the behaviour of AAP over the last one year, I think the party has done compromises to survive in the political system. I won’t go into the AAP funding because going by the AAP claims in the media, I only know that they have collected about Rs 19 crore from common Indians and NRIs. My reservations on the AAP poll campaign are as follows:

1. Long ago Anna Hazare had clarified to Arvind Kejriwal that AAP would not use his name in the poll campaign. But Anna's name is the fulcrum of the AAP poll campaign. 
2. AAP has painted Delhi black and white, claiming that it would pass Anna’s Jan Lokpal Bill on December 29 after coming to power in Delhi. Anna has rightly questioned AAP on this claim because Anna's Bill was meant to be passed by the Union govt not by a State govt. (I think AAP also wants to take advantage of people's emotions attached with Dec 29, the day Delhi Braveheart died last year.) 
3. In some AAP posters, the sentence "5 saal ki gudiya ko bachaya" (He saved a five-year-old innocent girl) is written below Kejriwal’s picture. Adjacent to his picture there is a picture of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who is blamed for the rising crimes against women. I found it in bad taste that Kejriwal, who claims to be a selfless leader, is asking votes in the name of a five-year-old innocent rape victim. 
4. No political party in Independent India has used huge posters to claim its victory on the basis of opinion polls commissioned by itself. But AAP has used autos and other strategic places to put big or small posters to claim that 41% Delhiites want Arvind Kejriwal to be Delhi CM and 46% Delhiites want AAP to form the govt. I think this is not an ethical way to mould people's opinion in your favour.  
5. Arvind Kejriwal hates the BJP and Congress in the same way as Narendra Modi hates the Congress. But in a democracy, particularly in the present times of coalition govts, you would need the Opposition's cooperation to complete legislative business. Otherwise House boycotts by the Opposition would paralyze your govt as has been happening with the minority Manmohan Singh govt for the past two years. 
6. Ironically, despite Kejriwal’s hate for BJP/Ccngress, AAP has fielded in Delhi polls about 10 candidates who in the past were associated with these parties. Interestingly, Kejriwal had gone on record in the media, saying AAP had asked its supporters’ views online about admitting BJP/Congress leaders. Then he told that AAP supporters had warned against admitting these leaders because ‘ye AAP ko kha jayenge.” Now, why this turnaround by AAP? Maybe, AAP will use these leaders as Vibhishanas to destroy the BJP/Congress Lankas!