JOIN US19 days into power in third term, Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP faces questions
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had delivered a huge punch to the BJP in the Delhi Assembly elections even after being decimated in the Lok Sabha polls nine months ago but it has lost much of the sheen within 19 days of the resounding victory it registered in the capital.
A section of supporters of AAP, who thought Arvind Kejriwal's team will stand up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, now does not hesitate to call them the saffron party's B-Team; thanks to the Delhi Chief Minister's continuing ambivalent stand on Shaheen Bagh anti-CAA protest, soft Hindutva manoeuvres and perceived inaction during Delhi riots.
The latest, if not the last, nail in the coffin came in the form of giving sanction to prosecute CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case involving an incident in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), almost a year after Delhi Police sought Kejriwal government's permission and four years after the alleged incident happened. It came as a surprise for many as a probe ordered by Kejriwal government by a magistrate itself had cleared the name of Kanhaiya and others. Kejriwal himself had come out in support of Kanhaiya and other JNU students in 2016 when Delhi Police, which is under the administrative control of the Centre, slapped the case against them.
What prompted Kejriwal to take such a call is not known, though AAP insists that it was just following “due process”.
While CPI understandably came out against the move with party General Secretary D Raja asking Kejriwal what pressure made him do so and Congress describing AAP and BJP as two sides of the same coin, one of the scathing comment came from the JNU Students Union which tweeted, “JNUSU condemns AAP. To sell out for short term political gains is extremely shameful. Politics of cowardice does not last.”
It went on to add AAP’s stand on several issues in a second tweet saying, “green-lighting prosecution in a farcical case fuelled by media sensationalism and doctored videos, support of abrogation of Article 370, silence on CAA-NRC, offering prayers when victims of Delhi’s anti-Muslim pogrom need material help. Why is AAP auditioning to be Hindutva’s B-team. Shame.”
A large number of people who positioned themselves against the BJP had pinned hopes on Kejriwal as a reliable ally in the fight against the saffron party and its alleged Hindutva politics. During Assembly elections, Kejriwal’s silence on Shaheen Bagh protest or reciting Hanuman Chalisa or asserting his faith in Hindu faith were seen by this section as electoral tactics and several even praised it saying it was wise to not get trapped in the narrative set by the BJP.
However, the actions by Kejriwal prior to the elections are now being questioned by several. After his party’s rout in Lok Sabha polls where it was relegated to third position in Delhi, Kejriwal had tweaked his strategy by not getting into a high rhetoric campaign.
He did not attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi or BJP and focussed on spreading word about his government’s work. It supported the government on the scrapping of special status of Jammu and Kashmir, was careful not to be seen as opposing Citizenship Amendment Act and not being see with anti-CAA protesters.
AAP sources indicate that there is a subtle tussle between two strains in the party – the Left-liberal group and right of centre and at present the latter has the upper hand.
Even after his thumping victory, which the Opposition in unison hailed as momentous, Kejriwal chose not to make his swearing in a show of unity of anti-BJP forces. Opposition circles were surprised but still felt Kejriwal right, though a section in the party felt that they should have invited others.
However, Opposition leaders said, Kejriwal’s handling of riots and the prosecution sanction on the sedition case have put doubts in their minds.