(Captain GR Gopinath founded Air Deccan and is considered a pioneer in the low-cost airline sector. He recently joined Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party)
AAP should reflect on recent events. The country looks upto the party's leaders.
People -and even some politicians from traditional parties - believe in Arvind Kejriwal's sincerity, integrity courage and willingness for sacrifice. He has to tread cautiously because he's surrounded by some sincere people but also by zealots, ideologues and sycophants. He has to learn to listen to diverse opinions from eminent and respected people from various fields, and also consult acclaimed domain specialists and evolve a balanced and equitable vision for India to make it economically strong and a happy society.
What is worrying and engaging every one after the recent two days of chaos in Delhi is a larger issue. Is the AAP really anarchic, a bunch of rabble-rousers? Are they serious about governance? Or are they also resorting to populist vote-bank politics by espousing subsidies and nationalisation, and whipping up anti-FDI and anti- market sentiments?
Why are they not focussing on a policy document that speaks of growth, creation of jobs, building infrastructure of roads, power, water , health care and education ?
The huge groundswell of support and adulation that swept the country for AAP was because Kejriwal promised change and hope for a better India, one that is free from the clutches of old politics and old governance.
That may soon evaporate if AAP doesn't make a course correction. Many are still looking to AAP to rid the country of corruption through administrative reforms and enabling autonomy to institutions.
They are hoping it will throw out crony capitalism and encourage FDI, but create a level playing field for Indian business, disallow cartelisation and promote competition by creating an eco-system for a vibrant private sector.
So when senior leaders in the party act like loose canons and start making impromptu policy announcements from the podium and then the party quickly flip flops, when a Law Minister behaves like a 'rogue elephant' and assumes a 'super cop' role instead of abiding by the law, when a Chief Minister forgets that once he takes an oath, he's a constitutional authority, and his allegiance is to the 'State' and not to his own party, when a series of such rash mis-steps are taken, then there's a deep sense of anguish of pain and disappointment among a large section of people who till recently looked up to Kejriwal and AAP as a Godsend in India's hour of despair.
The party is now in real danger of losing its way in the morass of politics driven by greed and ambition, and people are feeling that the AAP unfortunately is playing into the hands of the Congress which predicted the screen play and the events that are playing out with wily and canny astuteness.
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