Two Puzzling Political leaders of India

Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal are most talked about and sought  after leaders besides Narendra Modi, who is not discussed here and stands in another class. I liked Rahul and Arvind but they are becoming a puzzle to me day by day . Tome a leader presents a clear vision of the future of the country but here both are painting a fuzzy picture.

Let us first take Arvind who came to power in Delhi on the support of Congress and has fought relentlessly against corruption. For long he has been agitator and street fighter. Even after forming Government he has not adopted a new role of governance and is continuing the old love of agitation .His history of leaving revenue service and joining social movement , first  under the shadow of Aruna Roy whom he discarded and joined Anna Hazare. The duo played significant role in bringing the lime light to the need to eliminate corruption from the country as it was a major road block in economic and social growth of the country. Soon he got out of Anna’s fold whom he paid lip sympathy of being a Guru, and set up a political party called AAP. I still tried to tread in his foot steps ,as I thought  for him there was no option but to meet the political force with the same force. I was convinced that he is honest and simple. His dropping red lights and muffler clad poor looking face was theatrically a picture of a lamentable aam aadmi. It turned out that he was not simple. He was mastermind in creating agitation on the spur of the movement and also throwing smoke of rumors and false promises to lure public. He made promises for getting votes and failed to implement them as he himself gave time limit of a week and three weeks to many of his promises. When it came to honoring he made one or the other excuse and even compromised with declared assertions thus bringing down his credibility. But the greatest weapon he had was to defame others or to create atmosphere of dislike for other leaders by painting them black. After his fiasco of Dharna on Rail Bhavan, his support to rabble-rouser Bharati, his unlawful Minister of law and politics of riots or secularism et al Congress left him undistinguishable from others. When he found he is facing protests of contract workers teachers and students all round he developed a strategy to distract public by releasing list of corrupt leaders whom they would like to defeat. Now it became clear to me that he wants to win 2014 at any cost. It was height of sensationalism but media fell for it and he played the game. When he faced internal revolt he tried to blame others especially BJP for trying to destabilize him. In reality he himself wants to be thrown out so that he can fight 2014 election on sympathy vote. A clever game of hitting others below the belt and defying the normative and ethical behavior that  he should have leant from Anna. I am, therefore, confused where to place him: a ruthless anarchist or a self centered reformer.

Rahul on the other hand is innocence personified; he is not cheat or power snatcher masquerading as reformer. But he is a babe in the woods. Recent Interview on a channel at Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan revealed that he neither understands the nuances of state craft nor his ideology is any different from Congress high welfare dole distribution. The interview, Economist succinctly put it,’he might be regretting it already’.   That is why he thought three gas cylinders can get those votes whereas fewer than 2% will benefit without any gratitude. He has all the good intentions: internal democracy, systems change and removing corruption etc but when it comes to implementations he is lost. On pertinent question of system allowing former CM of Maharashtra and Himachal to take action why he is failing, he had no clear answer. Where there is system he is not even getting it implemented. Again joining Lalu Prasad he fumbled but said that is an idea and not an issue. To me it sounded like his famous ‘poverty as state of mind’ adage. He did not give any indication of macro policy or system change ideas but confined to giving tickets to young and a day later his Party gave all tickets to old people for Rajya Sabha.He should have ducked the question of 84 riots but he set out a controversy.  He means well but he has no way to get things done in the party or government except once in  a while barging in Press club and throwing the ordinance for protecting criminal legislators to dust bin. I wish he succeeds and learns the rope of governance which can be learnt as I know having taught a lot of such youngsters, but he seems to be a gentleman who has not met his right mentor. I am puzzled on what is his future agenda for action.

Bus Stand

First Passenger: Why AAP people are always stuck on television?

Second Passenger: They are watching how AAP is turning into FLOP.

----Prof N.K.Singh former Chairman International Airports Authority of India