Betrayal of aam aadmi

Amid a sordid spectacle of sting operations, scuffles and hunger strikes, name-calling and washing of dirty linen, Delhi’s governance is suffering

This may shatter the hopes and aspirations of many across the nation, but Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), touted as party with a difference, has turned out to be a party with differences, and no different from others. It did not take ten days for it after sweeping victory in the Delhi polls for serious internal differences to surface. They were seemingly waiting to come out of the cupboard.

Delhi CM and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal has proved to be no different from other leaders the way he has ensured the removal from key party bodies of the father-son duo of Shanti and Prashant Bhushan and the party’s chief ideologue, Yogendra Yadav. With AAP split, seeds of another party may have already been sown.

People are seeing a sordid spectacle of sting operations, scuffles and hunger strikes, name-calling and washing of dirty linen. In the meantime, Delhi’s governance is suffering. With Delhi in grip of rising prices of essential commodities and no relief in sight, the voter feels betrayed, yet again after AAP quit government last year.

When was the last time AAP talked of Lok Pal bill and about fighting corruption? But Kejriwal has replaced, without following any procedure, its internal Lokpal, former Navy chief, Admiral (retired) L Ramdas. There are echoes of disillusionment that led Justice Santosh Hegde and Capt. Gopinath, among others, who quit the party. The latest to quit is social activist Medha Patkar.

New to politics, though, sadly, AAP has displayed ability and willingness to adopt all the means, fair and foul, that other parties resort to when facing internal dissension. To be fair, it would be wrong, though, to think that it is a power struggle for pelf and ministerial posts. The fight is for the control of the organisation that, everyone thought, was poised to make a national flash in the assembly polls due this year.

Allegations of questionable transactions, including money laundering have been made. One can assume some money, at least, would have come from well-meaning citizens keen to support AAP and its alternative political agenda. That course seems to have been abandoned – at least for now. It may seem cynical, even premature, but the warnings of Anna Hazare, who earlier rallied the anti-graft movement, but who stands totally sidelined, are coming true.

There is something sad about middle class-led, middle class-inspired movements going haywire. We have another example, next door, in Imran Khan, who caught the popular imagination with angry slogans and potent promises, but has gone the way of other parties – and worst, seeking power and nothing else, while his country and the province his party rules are in the grip of terrorism. Such things disappoint people anywhere and make them cynical. Kejriwal still has time to recover and utilise the political support, much of it gained through sledge-hammer tactics. All is not lost yet.