Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called a press conference on Wednesday and gave the good news that 5000 sanitation workers of Delhi Municipal Corporation have been made permanent. But how permanent is this self-proclaimed happiness of the Chief Minister, it will be known today (Thursday). It is known that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has called him for questioning on November 2 in the Delhi Excise scam. And from the indications, it seems that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal may not be able to save himself from getting entangled in this scam. Kejriwal government’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and AAP party’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh are already in jail. Just on October 30, the Supreme Court rejected his bail plea.
Arvind Kejriwal was not looking very happy while giving this good news on Wednesday evening. It seemed from his expression that he wanted to take the center to power with this move. Arvind Kejriwal may be new in politics but he is no less than anyone in tact. If there is basic honesty in this political skill then there is no doubt that he is the greatest leader ever. But they themselves distort their statements so much as per their convenience that doubts arise about them. The way he interfered in Delhi politics in 2013 and opened a front against the previous government, it seemed that for the first time since 1993, such a face has come into the politics of Delhi state, who will completely change this state.
Arvind was once a youth icon
He had emerged as a youth icon. I remember, when Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party became the second largest party by getting 28 seats in the Delhi Assembly elections, the youth of the entire country were excited. My nephew was sitting in the wedding hall at that time. As soon as he heard the news of Arvind Kejriwal’s victory, he got up and started dancing. Whereas he was in Kanpur and had no connection with the Delhi state government. At that time BJP had got 32 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly. Then Arvind had formed the government with the help of Congress in December 2013, but Arvind was worried that this government with crutches would not allow him to work as per his wish. That’s why they distributed rabris indiscriminately to the voters of Delhi. Electricity bills were reduced and drinking water was made free. In Delhi, they intervened in such a way that they staged a dharna in front of the office of Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. His insistence was that this land was within the boundaries of Delhi Government.
Crowds gathered in 2015
His image at that time was that of a common man who does not like to live in all the fuss like politicians and all his politics is for the common people of the country. The result was that he could not get along well with Congress and he resigned from the post after 49 days. But he got the benefits of the promises he had announced to the voters in 2015. When he won 67 out of 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly elections. Congress was wiped out and BJP got only three seats. But it is also strange that Arvind Kejriwal, who got such a huge majority in the Delhi Assembly elections, did not get a single seat in the Lok Sabha in 2014. He did not get any Lok Sabha seat even in 2019. From this it was believed that the voter of Delhi is smart. Modi at the center and Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi.
Conflict with LG also
Along with Delhi, the Lieutenant Governor also sits in Puducherry. Because both have the status of special states. But since Delhi is also the national capital, there are many restrictions on the Delhi government. Along with executive powers, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi has some special powers which he exercises in matters related to public sector, police and land. Any order given by the President under Article 239 can also be implemented in consultation with the Chief Minister of that state. Therefore, here the government has to take permission from the Lieutenant Governor before implementing many orders. But Arvind Kejriwal had trouble with every Lieutenant Governor. Be it Najeeb Jung or Anil Baijal or VK Saxena. Often Arvind went to the Supreme Court with the Lieutenant Governor. From there both of them got instructions. Before him, Congress’s Sheila Dikshit had been the Chief Minister of Delhi for 15 years. During his first six years of tenure, there was a BJP-led Atal Bihari Vajpayee government at the Centre, but he never had any conflict with the Centre.
The warrior fighting corruption himself got entangled in corruption
Arvind Kejriwal has been a talented politician. He fought many battles against corruption. He was an IRS service officer and in 1992, he was posted in the office of the Chief Income Tax Commissioner in Delhi, where he realized that there was a lot of corruption in the government departments. He fought against his department and in 2000 he took voluntary leave from the department and started a movement against corruption. He formed an NGO and his biggest work was to get the RTI (Right to Information Act) passed. This Act was made in Delhi in 2001 and passed by the Center in 2006. After resigning from the job in 2006, he joined the anti-corruption campaign. In 2011, when Anna Hazare started a fast against corruption in Delhi, Arvind was his assistant. In 2012 he formed Aam Aadmi Party and in 2013 this party created a ruckus in Delhi.
Who will replace Arvind in Delhi?
Today, Delhi Assembly and Delhi Municipal Corporation are in control of Aam Aadmi Party. This party is in government in Punjab. Sometimes it seems that they are the B team of BJP and sometimes they make alliance with Congress. But the truth is that both the parties do not trust him. ED has summoned him in the Delhi liquor scam, apparently he must have got some evidence in his hands. This was the reason that on October 30, the Supreme Court did not grant bail to Manish Sisodia, who was the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and is currently in jail. It is being said that the investigation team has found some evidence against the Chief Minister in the Rs 333 crore Delhi liquor scam case. Now the crisis has come that if he is also detained in this case, then who will take his place in the Delhi government?
Eyes on Atishi and Saurabh
In Delhi government, Atishi and AAP party spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj is being considered as an alternative to Arvind Kejriwal. Some people have set their sights on his wife. But AAP party is neither Lalu Yadav’s RJD nor does it have a wide support base which would accept the wife as the Chief Minister after the husband. It is certain that if Arvind is arrested, the annihilation of AAP party in Delhi is certain. However, both the government and the party will remain in Punjab. This will suit BJP also. Because BJP has no support base in Punjab and AAP Party is destroying the base of Congress there. This is the reason why Congress, TMC, DMK etc. have maintained silence on this crisis of AAP and Arvind Kejriwal.
Arvind also senses crisis
Arvind Kejriwal is aware of this crisis. That’s why there was no joy on his face when he gave the good news of confirming 5000 sanitation workers of the Municipal Corporation on Wednesday. Arvind Kejriwal may be the Chief Minister but demonstrating his political astuteness he did not take any ministry in the government. But informed sources say that his consent was mandatory on every decision. As soon as the CBI had interrogated him in connection with the liquor scam on April 16, he started sensing impending trouble.
