Blog: 'Arvind Kejriwal goes for the jugular'

(Captain GR Gopinath founded Air Deccan and is considered a pioneer in the low-cost airline sector)

By bringing down his own government, Arvind Kejriwal has shocked the nation. The common people are in disbelief and deeply disappointed, though the traditional parties and their followers, including "big business," may have heaved a sigh of relief.

This time Kejriwal went for the jugular of the Congress and BJP, taking the battle to their backyard. He filed an FIR against India's richest, and widely believed to be the most powerful man, and also against high-profile ministers from the Congress, the very party which was keeping his party propped up in power. And by exposing the deafening silence of the BJP in all this, he has shown with ease and panache that all parties are complicit and are on the same side.

The Congress was not amused. And so they pulled the plug, realising, a bit belatedly perhaps, that by cohabiting with Kejriwal any longer, they were only signing their own death warrant and handing it over to him on a platter. They found themselves in an unenviable position. Their enfant terrible was not only heaping abuse daily and threatening them, but was also actually carrying out his threats by filing one criminal charge after another, moving up the chain of command and within striking distance of the very top of the hierarchy.

So before it got too late, untenable and dangerous, they cut off the umbilical cord in panic and confusion. They realised they were playing with fire. And many believe have got already scorched. The charge levelled by Kejriwal that he would rather quit his job than take support from a party which is under the grip of "big business" is appearing to stick with the general public despite all the clever arguments by the glib spokesmen of both the parties, the Congress and BJP, that they want to uphold constitutional norms and go by the rule-book.

The argument doesn't wash with the public, who can easily see through the game. And the Congress and the BJP are beginning to worry that it is making a dent in their calculations for the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Kejriwal and his AAP burst on the Indian political scene like the onset of spring, a breath of fresh air where there was stench. He reminded many of us of what Wordsworth said of Milton, "Milton! thou should'st be living at this hour:
England hath need of thee: she is a fen
Of stagnant waters... We are selfish men;...
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power."

Some would argue he came like a tsunami and left destruction in his wake. The old order operated under well-understood and respected tacit rules, with a kind of twisted logic that said, "If you're elected and if your party gets a mandate, then it is licence from the 'people' to licentious behaviour. You are entitled to live off the fat of the land. You cannot question what I do. The 'people' have elected me. So till the next election, I cannot be questioned." And Kejriwal came along, like a tornado, challenged the status quo, and threatened and shook the very foundation of the old cosy club which operated freely and with impunity in an established nexus between politicians and business, helped in the process by the bureaucracy.

Kejriwal reversed the logic to "The people voted you to power. So they are the masters." As Anna Hazare said, so simply, "If I sent you there, I can question you. I will not wait helplessly for five more years. I have a right to dispense with niceties and norms and hold you accountable without waiting for another five years. I'm the master."

In Kejriwal's binary view, there are those who are corrupt and those who are victims of that corruption. His fight is for clean governance and justice for the aam aadmi. It is not for any one caste or religion. It is for every one and against one evil - "corruption", represented by the traditional political parties. In one master stroke, he united his constituency and got rid of the other evil of our society, caste and religion, on the basis of which elections were fought.

A new chapter for the people's mandate has begun not only for the Lok Sabha but once again for Delhi. We have often seen a few independents or rebels supporting a ruling party and often blackmailing to pull it down if they are not offered their pound of flesh. But have you ever heard of a Chief Minister bringing down his own government, that, too, over an anti-corruption bill?

So whatever may be Kejriwal's other shortcomings, how can anyone doubt his integrity and sincerity to purpose? A maverick chief minister he may be, but how do you deal with a new kind of firebrand political leader who burns with a scorching flame of idealism to rid the country of corruption? The Congress and BJP seem to be at their wits end and are still trying to figure it out. They may be running out of time.

They would have been prudent had they granted Kejriwal's wish and helped pass the Jan Lokpal Bill. That would have also earned them, the Congress especially, the goodwill of the nation. They, the BJP and the Congress, can't rest in peace now. Kejriwal will be back to haunt them again and will be their nightmare till a strong bill sees the light of day. That, I think, is the prayer on everyone's lips.

Many may dismiss his vision as Utopian but can only ignore him at their own peril.

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