Arvind Kejriwal is at it again. Making explosive statements to press, whether at a public forum like he did recently Jantar Mantar on 25 march, or in talks to journalists. He seems to be progressively losing motor control over his tongue.
I completely support the Janlokpal movement, and was even present at the Ramlila maidan to cheer Anna. I fervently believe that the Jan Lokpal bill will bring about a sea change in the Indian administration, making it more transparent and more accessible to the people.
At that time, the stars of the movement, apart from Anna himself, were undoubtedly Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi. Both career public servants, he from the IFS and she from the IPS, both having given up their jobs to serve the public, there was little wrong that they could do. When they spoke, people listened, because they spoke with authority.
But when the government decided to strike back at them, for some reason, it chose to make a case out of Arvind Kejriwal. He was a deserter, they said, having not properly resigned from his job. He owed the government money, they said. Maybe because his supporters compared him to Rahul Gandhi, but the Congress, and especially Digvijay Singh, was hounding. In the end, he had to pay the income tax department Rs 7 lakhs as a fine for what it termed 'deserting his post'. The incident seems to have impacted him a lot, as since then, he has given a lot of statements that can only be termed as inflammatory. It started when he said that Anna Hazare was above the constitution. It gets worse, when he later said on February 26, 2012 that he had no faith in the constitution, and called the MPs rapists. Though he later clarified that he meant the current constituent assembly rather than the constitution, the damage was already done.
Since then, the Anna campaign has been a roller coaster ride. The Mumbai annshan didn't plan out as expected. The huge crowds of Delhi did not turn up there. Anna became unwell. Arvind Kejriwal again was targeted for speaking his mouth off.
As things proceed, Team Anna is, at best, meandering. It is extremely active on twitter, where is latches on to any cause, as long as it is against the government.
And Arvind Kejriwal, like a good foot soldier, is the mouthpiece, shooting his mouth off.
note: I know this post is inconsistent - it too is a victim of a double write and a long gestation
I completely support the Janlokpal movement, and was even present at the Ramlila maidan to cheer Anna. I fervently believe that the Jan Lokpal bill will bring about a sea change in the Indian administration, making it more transparent and more accessible to the people.
At that time, the stars of the movement, apart from Anna himself, were undoubtedly Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi. Both career public servants, he from the IFS and she from the IPS, both having given up their jobs to serve the public, there was little wrong that they could do. When they spoke, people listened, because they spoke with authority.
But when the government decided to strike back at them, for some reason, it chose to make a case out of Arvind Kejriwal. He was a deserter, they said, having not properly resigned from his job. He owed the government money, they said. Maybe because his supporters compared him to Rahul Gandhi, but the Congress, and especially Digvijay Singh, was hounding. In the end, he had to pay the income tax department Rs 7 lakhs as a fine for what it termed 'deserting his post'. The incident seems to have impacted him a lot, as since then, he has given a lot of statements that can only be termed as inflammatory. It started when he said that Anna Hazare was above the constitution. It gets worse, when he later said on February 26, 2012 that he had no faith in the constitution, and called the MPs rapists. Though he later clarified that he meant the current constituent assembly rather than the constitution, the damage was already done.
Since then, the Anna campaign has been a roller coaster ride. The Mumbai annshan didn't plan out as expected. The huge crowds of Delhi did not turn up there. Anna became unwell. Arvind Kejriwal again was targeted for speaking his mouth off.
As things proceed, Team Anna is, at best, meandering. It is extremely active on twitter, where is latches on to any cause, as long as it is against the government.
And Arvind Kejriwal, like a good foot soldier, is the mouthpiece, shooting his mouth off.
note: I know this post is inconsistent - it too is a victim of a double write and a long gestation
No comments:
Post a Comment