The picture above doesn't tell the true story.
Call him a chief minister who has so much of spare time or somebody who has taken the practice of taking swipes at his opponents to new heights, Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is a man on a mission. And his obsession with Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues, as on the slightest of pretexts he takes to social media and attacks Modi.
And Modi is once again at the receiving end. The Delhi CM creates a hue and cry over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Maheish Girri sitting at a dharna outside the former’s residence. The issue is simple: Girri protests against Kejriwal’s accusation that the MP had a role in the murder of estate officer MM Khan on May 16. And Kejriwal passes the buck to the Delhi police under the central government. The law will take its own course, but the incident has once again got Kejriwal trending on social platforms and he has our Prime Minister to thank for.
Since taking charge as the Delhi chief minister last year, Kejriwal has devoted most of his time crossing swords with the PM. Whether it was on the authority of Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung or Modi’s academic qualification or President Pranab Mukherjee withholding the Parliamentary Secretary Bill, the IIT alumnus seems to have ample time to tweet and take the battle to the BJP camp. Even during the AgustaWestland chopper scam, Kejriwal accused Modi of shielding Sonia and Rahul Gandhi something no other Modi baiter had come up with.
But why can’t Kejriwal divert his attention to issues Delhi is afflicted with? He has enough on the table: pollution, water problem, power cuts, crime and others. It’s not that he hasn’t delivered, the odd-even scheme has earned him praise, but beyond that there’s hardly anything he can tom-tom about.
However, if one has to remember Kejriwal, it would be more because of his rivalry with Modi than his performance as the CM. Indian politics over the years has had loquacious politicians who have hit headlines with their vocal skills, but Kejriwal seems to have left all of them behind. And he deserves ‘kudos’ for the hatke angle he takes to take on his opponents as exemplified by his attack on Modi over the VVIP chopper scam.
Call it sheer populism, his efforts may pay him some dividends as the author found out while talking to an auto-rickshaw driver in Delhi. “Modi doesn’t allow Kejriwal to work and he is soon going to topple the Delhi government,” he had said. But looking at the larger picture Kejriwal might just end up on a low in electoral politics.
If Kejriwal’s aggression is aimed at getting maximum mileage and pushing himself as the face of the Federal Front, as a challenger to BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he is day dreaming. While Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee are wooing voters with prohibition and development respectively, Kejriwal is found wanting.
With the BJP on a drive to spread its wings all across the country, it’s time for the AAP convener and Delhi CM to get down to business and challenge his rivals (read Modi and team) through performance and not words.
With 21 AAP MLAs facing a probable disqualification after the President’s decision, Kejriwal is on a sticky wicket. To make matters worse the Delhi Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) may question Kejriwal on the Rs 400-crore water tanker scam that took place when Sheila Dixit was in power. The FIR has been filed against both the governments (Dixit and Kejriwal's). So, the AAP leader should be ready to face some fierce bouncers from his enemies. And only political maturity and not words will see him through.
So, Kejriji, are you listening?
Call him a chief minister who has so much of spare time or somebody who has taken the practice of taking swipes at his opponents to new heights, Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is a man on a mission. And his obsession with Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues, as on the slightest of pretexts he takes to social media and attacks Modi.
And Modi is once again at the receiving end. The Delhi CM creates a hue and cry over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Maheish Girri sitting at a dharna outside the former’s residence. The issue is simple: Girri protests against Kejriwal’s accusation that the MP had a role in the murder of estate officer MM Khan on May 16. And Kejriwal passes the buck to the Delhi police under the central government. The law will take its own course, but the incident has once again got Kejriwal trending on social platforms and he has our Prime Minister to thank for.
Since taking charge as the Delhi chief minister last year, Kejriwal has devoted most of his time crossing swords with the PM. Whether it was on the authority of Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung or Modi’s academic qualification or President Pranab Mukherjee withholding the Parliamentary Secretary Bill, the IIT alumnus seems to have ample time to tweet and take the battle to the BJP camp. Even during the AgustaWestland chopper scam, Kejriwal accused Modi of shielding Sonia and Rahul Gandhi something no other Modi baiter had come up with.
But why can’t Kejriwal divert his attention to issues Delhi is afflicted with? He has enough on the table: pollution, water problem, power cuts, crime and others. It’s not that he hasn’t delivered, the odd-even scheme has earned him praise, but beyond that there’s hardly anything he can tom-tom about.
However, if one has to remember Kejriwal, it would be more because of his rivalry with Modi than his performance as the CM. Indian politics over the years has had loquacious politicians who have hit headlines with their vocal skills, but Kejriwal seems to have left all of them behind. And he deserves ‘kudos’ for the hatke angle he takes to take on his opponents as exemplified by his attack on Modi over the VVIP chopper scam.
Call it sheer populism, his efforts may pay him some dividends as the author found out while talking to an auto-rickshaw driver in Delhi. “Modi doesn’t allow Kejriwal to work and he is soon going to topple the Delhi government,” he had said. But looking at the larger picture Kejriwal might just end up on a low in electoral politics.
If Kejriwal’s aggression is aimed at getting maximum mileage and pushing himself as the face of the Federal Front, as a challenger to BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he is day dreaming. While Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee are wooing voters with prohibition and development respectively, Kejriwal is found wanting.
With the BJP on a drive to spread its wings all across the country, it’s time for the AAP convener and Delhi CM to get down to business and challenge his rivals (read Modi and team) through performance and not words.
With 21 AAP MLAs facing a probable disqualification after the President’s decision, Kejriwal is on a sticky wicket. To make matters worse the Delhi Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) may question Kejriwal on the Rs 400-crore water tanker scam that took place when Sheila Dixit was in power. The FIR has been filed against both the governments (Dixit and Kejriwal's). So, the AAP leader should be ready to face some fierce bouncers from his enemies. And only political maturity and not words will see him through.
So, Kejriji, are you listening?
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