So, Mr. Kejriwal has finally formed a government in Delhi. All I feel is that it is a positive step in politics and both the major parties have come to realize that corruption is no small factor in the minds of the voters and no party is better than the other in corruption and there are numerous examples to prove how both these parties have looted the nation/states on various occasions.
Having said that, what AAP is doing raises a lot of questions in one's mind (I am still not claiming to be an aam aadmi) including:
1. AAP is yet to prove its credentials as a good administrator in Delhi (giving away free water and slashing electricity is not good governance/administration) but they are already talking about going national and contesting against RG, Modi. I always thought it was about policies and not people. I thought this party was different in the sense that they want to have an agenda before they get into an election rather than just challenging anybody, because you have momentum going with you and voters are enthusiastic about you. Its like if I am offered the job of a CEO of an MNC without any prior experience in any senior role, should i take it just because somebody thinks that i am capable to do that job. I personally wouldn't take it because the cost of failing at that level is much higher. Moreover, with the intention of not supporting either of the parties, AAP seems to be following the policy of disruptive politics where they cant form a government and they wouldn't even let anybody form it. Having seen so many minority governments, we all would agree that we now need a stable government to get out of the policy paralysis we face currently.
I personally feel that they should first focus on Delhi. Put your entire team's effort on Delhi and make it a model state if you can, so that people who travel to Delhi even from outside can see the difference. Make it such that people say that it is better than any other Indian state in all respects, be it security, infrastructure, ease of doing business etc. Give it five years and then go national with some proven credentials. Right now, what they are doing doesn't look any better than what any political party would do in this situation. Announce freebies because you think there might be re-elections, and with voter momentum behind you, contest as many number of seats as possible and put your guys in parliament. This is a tedious and slow approach but the one where you are proving your merits before making tall claims.
2. Another point to note is that who exactly is this aam aadmi which AK keeps talking about (aam aadmi bas ye chahta hai ke mujhe chhatt mil jaaye, do waqt ki roti mil jaaye etc. etc.). Having lived in delhi for c. 30 years in an relatively upper middle class colony, I have not come across alot of people who belong to this category. Majority of the upper middle class and upper class people in delhi are traders/businessmen with an average 2-3 cars per family and c. 10-20 cr. of net worth. With my experience, I can say that most of these people dont pay income tax (no data to prove this available) and are responsible for increasing the black market of the country. Over the years, this class has realized that money can buy anything in Delhi and hence care two hoots about the systems and policies. I remember an instance when in my colony, traffic police had started a drive where they were checking the traffic violations within the colony (minors driving, without helmet etc.) and the citizens of the colony approached the local MLA to stop this practice and it was stopped. Now, with AAP's approach of referendum, we would have a colony which wants to violate rules and define their own set of rules. Are we okay with that?
The second class of people i want to talk about are the under-privileged/slum-dwellers. Now these guys really need the freebies which AAP is offering but unfortunately they dont have the water connections, power connections to avail the benefits. Having said that, not all of them are innocent and becharas. Any visitor can vouch for the rudeness one encounters when you talk to taxiwallas, autowallas or even the car parking guy. These guys take law in their hands thinking they have nothing to loose. If you'd remember, Nirbhaya was also raped by people from this strata of society. I am not saying that everybody in this class is a law-breaker but you cant put everyone in the category of aam-aadmi and becharas. I would be elated if AAP comes out and says that although we are doing what we can for this class, but we would take the strictest action if we find any violation.
The third category of people are actually the becharas (I am saying this because I belong here). These people typically work in Government/Private jobs. Pay their taxes properly (although they dont have a choice), avoid any altercation with any body as there are parents/family waiting for them at home, shit scared of the police and would avoid even complaining against anybody thinking they'd get into trouble. Apparently, this class is the one which contributes most to the exchequer in terms of personal income tax but unfortunately nobody listens to them. They dont want freebies, instead they want a better atmosphere, where nobody bullies them, they get better infrastructure, and if possible better job opportunities.
AAP has definitely provided a ray hope for the people of country who are frustrated with the current political system but there is a growing skepticism about their ways of distributing freebies. This is no different from what other parties have been doing since independence. I would like to just sum this up with two bullet points:
1. Government should teach its citizens how to fish and not distribute free fishes
2. AAP is only talking about wealth distribution, where is the talk of wealth creation
Having said that, what AAP is doing raises a lot of questions in one's mind (I am still not claiming to be an aam aadmi) including:
1. AAP is yet to prove its credentials as a good administrator in Delhi (giving away free water and slashing electricity is not good governance/administration) but they are already talking about going national and contesting against RG, Modi. I always thought it was about policies and not people. I thought this party was different in the sense that they want to have an agenda before they get into an election rather than just challenging anybody, because you have momentum going with you and voters are enthusiastic about you. Its like if I am offered the job of a CEO of an MNC without any prior experience in any senior role, should i take it just because somebody thinks that i am capable to do that job. I personally wouldn't take it because the cost of failing at that level is much higher. Moreover, with the intention of not supporting either of the parties, AAP seems to be following the policy of disruptive politics where they cant form a government and they wouldn't even let anybody form it. Having seen so many minority governments, we all would agree that we now need a stable government to get out of the policy paralysis we face currently.
I personally feel that they should first focus on Delhi. Put your entire team's effort on Delhi and make it a model state if you can, so that people who travel to Delhi even from outside can see the difference. Make it such that people say that it is better than any other Indian state in all respects, be it security, infrastructure, ease of doing business etc. Give it five years and then go national with some proven credentials. Right now, what they are doing doesn't look any better than what any political party would do in this situation. Announce freebies because you think there might be re-elections, and with voter momentum behind you, contest as many number of seats as possible and put your guys in parliament. This is a tedious and slow approach but the one where you are proving your merits before making tall claims.
2. Another point to note is that who exactly is this aam aadmi which AK keeps talking about (aam aadmi bas ye chahta hai ke mujhe chhatt mil jaaye, do waqt ki roti mil jaaye etc. etc.). Having lived in delhi for c. 30 years in an relatively upper middle class colony, I have not come across alot of people who belong to this category. Majority of the upper middle class and upper class people in delhi are traders/businessmen with an average 2-3 cars per family and c. 10-20 cr. of net worth. With my experience, I can say that most of these people dont pay income tax (no data to prove this available) and are responsible for increasing the black market of the country. Over the years, this class has realized that money can buy anything in Delhi and hence care two hoots about the systems and policies. I remember an instance when in my colony, traffic police had started a drive where they were checking the traffic violations within the colony (minors driving, without helmet etc.) and the citizens of the colony approached the local MLA to stop this practice and it was stopped. Now, with AAP's approach of referendum, we would have a colony which wants to violate rules and define their own set of rules. Are we okay with that?
The second class of people i want to talk about are the under-privileged/slum-dwellers. Now these guys really need the freebies which AAP is offering but unfortunately they dont have the water connections, power connections to avail the benefits. Having said that, not all of them are innocent and becharas. Any visitor can vouch for the rudeness one encounters when you talk to taxiwallas, autowallas or even the car parking guy. These guys take law in their hands thinking they have nothing to loose. If you'd remember, Nirbhaya was also raped by people from this strata of society. I am not saying that everybody in this class is a law-breaker but you cant put everyone in the category of aam-aadmi and becharas. I would be elated if AAP comes out and says that although we are doing what we can for this class, but we would take the strictest action if we find any violation.
The third category of people are actually the becharas (I am saying this because I belong here). These people typically work in Government/Private jobs. Pay their taxes properly (although they dont have a choice), avoid any altercation with any body as there are parents/family waiting for them at home, shit scared of the police and would avoid even complaining against anybody thinking they'd get into trouble. Apparently, this class is the one which contributes most to the exchequer in terms of personal income tax but unfortunately nobody listens to them. They dont want freebies, instead they want a better atmosphere, where nobody bullies them, they get better infrastructure, and if possible better job opportunities.
AAP has definitely provided a ray hope for the people of country who are frustrated with the current political system but there is a growing skepticism about their ways of distributing freebies. This is no different from what other parties have been doing since independence. I would like to just sum this up with two bullet points:
1. Government should teach its citizens how to fish and not distribute free fishes
2. AAP is only talking about wealth distribution, where is the talk of wealth creation
Our country in undergoing a political awareness. I truly feel that Tata tea's "jaago re" campaign has been realized. AAP added to that entire process. With so called "outsiders" coming in the govt. - the usual commoner got a taste of what it could be - to sit behind the table. The attention, the criticism, the politics of the situation and the difference between having the right intentions and doing the right things. While i agree with most of the points you have stated, I would like to say that no one solution could make all happy. Given the diversity in the public to which these policies apply - there will always be those who are left unhappy.
ReplyDelete