Breaking the monopoly
JOHN ERIC GOMES
Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress fought for Swaraj, but thereafter instead of dismantling the oppressive British structures and traditions in line with our political freedom spelt out in our Constitution, the gap between the rulers and ruled has grown and keeps widening. The aam admi was only needed for his vote, and with political, money power and privileges, elections legitimized the tyranny of the elected few who became a law unto themselves.
The Adarsh building scam in Maharashtra has been thoroughly investigated; the court ordered demolition as all parties and senior bureaucrats had their hand in the pie. The final Inquiry Commission’s report was recently placed in the Assembly which blatantly shelved it! With Rahul Gandhi sensing public anger and calling for a review, action against all three ex-Chief Ministers was still rejected on grounds that patronage doesn’t mean criminality. Only ineligible and benami transactions would now be prosecuted! BJP calling the Congress corrupt while it welcomes Yedurappa into its fold is most amusing. After denying the country a Lokpal for 46 years on one excuse or another, while scam after scam was perpetrated with impunity, the wily politicians recently passed the Bill, fearing Anna Hazare’s fast and the growing influence of the AAP.
What has been disturbing in 2013 is the rise of communalism. Muzaffarnagar is a blot on our nation’s cohesiveness and the blocking of the “Prevention of Communal Violence Bill” during the winter session bodes ill for the future. With BJP’s divisive politics, the central government may have to be a mute spectator to a polarized police force with the State government’s connivance in ethnic or religious cleansing. The Bicholim Hindu Janajagruti Samiti chastised the BJP government in Goa for not fulfilling its promises, but added that the government is not interested in the welfare of Hindus and is only taking care of the needs of the minority community. Such statements must be condemned and people encouraged to follow the policy of the AAP. This was a party dismissed by the entrenched political parties as upstarts. Since Independence, the electorate has been progressively forced to give its mandate to a political formation of coalition governments. The Congress and the BJP have proved to be two sides of the same coin. The upstarts have given the electorate hope.
Politicians know that if a frustrated electorate were to vote them out of power, they would return riding on the wave of anti-incumbency, secure in the knowledge that the brunt of governance failure would be borne by the general public and not by them. The AAP is changing all that, and even if they are unable to remain in power to achieve their professed aam admi oriented manifesto, they will have changed the way our democracy and governance will be conducted in future. Although the BJP won 31 seats in Delhi, the AAP with 28 seats was not far behind, trouncing the Congress who managed only 7. The Congress started chiding the AAP for not accepting its support and running away from the responsibility to walk the talk. The AAP wisely went back to the people before accepting Congress support for its 18-point agenda to form a government.
The Congress then went from unconditional support to conditional support. I therefore fail to understand why AAP is being repeatedly and boringly asked by the media and the political parties to explain the taking of corrupt Congress support when it had vowed not to. I am glad AAP members sat in dignified silence when the Congress and the BJP were trying to run them down during the vote of confidence when Kerjiwal was nominated as Chief Minister.
Since nobody wanted to be the Speaker, the AAP put up its own candidate and then the BJP did likewise. The new CM however knows power corrupts and with people’s egos, drastic systemic changes required will be a daunting task. With the election of the Speaker from the AAP, Kerjiwal sang the tune of universal brotherhood, welcomed his rivals and critics, requesting their help and cooperation. He reminded everyone that he would be harsh on corruption by anyone—from the Congress, the BJP or his own party. He cautioned his party members to be humble with the sole task of serving the people.
The AAP cannot be taken lightly anymore. It is more a movement than a party. Going national, people from all walks of life are joining the AAP in droves. Anyone, high or low, who shuns the ‘lal batti’ culture and corruption and accepts that people matter first, is an aam admi. The nation is desperate for a change from sycophancy, ‘supremos’ running the party, and the party more important than the people. What is important is ending the VIP syndrome and bringing in self-respect and equality before the law to each and every citizen with transparency, accountability and a say in governance. That is primarily what the father of our nation fought for and our Constitution promises.
