Media is admiring the
victory achieved by the AAP within a very short span of 14 months from the date
of formation of the party, that too against two of the biggest
money-and-muscle-powered parties, the Congress and the BJP. Though it is true
to some extent, the victory is not a tough riddle to crack. These very media on
its own took charge of the initial advertisement and promotional activities for
AAP; these media were projecting the ludicrous hunger strike drama of Anna
Hazare as one of the greatest people movements in India.
Government was in a dire
need to veil the lawful plundering of nations’ wealth by the corporate MNCs;
there are mass struggles almost in all parts of the country against the
policies of the state. There was an urgent need for the government to project
Anna Hazare as an Avtar Purush in order to divert growing anger and frustration
of the people, who are victims of re-colonization policy of the state. In
almost all parts of the developing world, the World Bank is in the process of
building movements with slogans such as “Good Governance”, “Stop Corruption”
etc.,; and Anna Hazare is a winner of World Bank's 2008 Jit Gill Memorial Award
for Outstanding Public Service. This being the case, it does not require any
special investigative expertise to detect, discover and understand the linkage
between Anna and World Bank. At the same time, it is also important to remember
that Arvind Kejriwal, who was a media sensation during the ‘hunger strike’
times, was appreciated as “emerging new leadership” and has been given Rockefeller
Foundation’s Magsaysay award.
The public anger due to
skyrocketing electricity and water charges at Delhi was in favour of AAP.
Instead of revealing the fact that such a price rise is a result of
“privatization”, AAP was depicting it as a result of “corruption and
mismanagement”. An analysis of AAP’s support base would reveal that a majority
of them belong to upper middle class – a mixture of IIT graduates, heads of
MNCs and IT companies, Civil Service aspirants, and heads of all kinds of NGOs.
Not only that, it is of primary importance to note that they all gained
‘political consciousness’ only by Anna Hazare’s hunger strike! Three distinct
and contradicting classes of people, with contradicting thoughts and interests,
have supported the AAP – (a) the upper middle class, which is of the opinion
that implementation of Liberalization and Privatization policies, without any
interference or corruption by politicians and bureaucrats, is the only way to
develop the nation; (b) the lower middle class – which has developed hatred
upon corrupt politicians and the privatization policies of the government due
to skyrocketing electricity, water and other prices; (c) the bottom-most class
– which is not only in the verge of losing its livelihood due to ever-reducing
wages and ever-increasing prices, but is also in the verge of losing its life
due to reduction of even the miniscule social welfare benefits that were
available to them like free health, education etc, as their survival depends on
these facilities.
In an interview to Open
Magazine, when asked about AAP’s standpoint on the issues faced by the people,
Kejriwal says: ‘I want to make it very clear: we are not wedded to any
ideology. Second thing: we are very clear that government has no business to be
in business. As far as the corporate sector is concerned… trade needs to be
encouraged. We want honest businesses. Certainly, the corporate sector has a
big role to play in the country. Let me also tell you, barring a few people,
most businessmen themselves are victims of corruption and not
perpetrators’. But when Kejriwal calls Corporates, who are the
‘root-cause of the problem of corruption’, as ‘victims of corruption’, it is
not difficult to understand to which ‘policy’ he is being wedded to! But Prashant Bhushan, who is also a
member of AAP, has made a statement that is completely contradictory and
opposite to what Kejriwal had mentioned: ‘the most sinister impact on the
country is the creation of a corporate mafia which has gained control over the
entire establishment and the decision-making machinery while most of the major
political parties, including the Congress and the BJP, have become mere puppets
under it’. Another AAP leader Yogendra Yadav says, ‘AAP does not subscribe to
any of the pre-packaged ideologies of the 20th century. 20th century gave us
large ideological packages as I said, highly stylized, very pre-determined,
connected to each other, and, therefore, they gave the impression of being
whole integrated things. But in reality, these were highly contrived packages.
We are concerned about the last individual… But at the same time if someone
says we cannot give up the public sector and subsidies, then he is confusing
the agenda.’ Yadav in his own intellectual fashion reflects Kejriwal’s thoughts
that a common man can benefit only through privatization. At a time when wealth
of the nation and that of the people is legally opened-up for plunder by
corporate MNCs and comprador bourgeois; when re-colonial slavery is legalized
and voices raised against it are crushed in the name of sedition; when people
are robbed off their land and their livelihood; when basic welfare measures
like education and hospitals are opened up for loot by private corporates – AAP
never spoke about any of these issues and talks only about eradication of
corruption, as if that is the only problem of this nation.Already, the powers
of parliament have been cut-short; most of the powers, which were once
exclusive to parliament and legislature, are now hijacked by bureaucrats and comprador
bourgeois by establishing ‘Regulatory Authorities’ – they are not able to make
policies and rules according to their own wishes. When such core and
life-threatening issues are going-on in the mainstream, AAP never spoke about
any of these and deliberately diverted its attention by talking about providing
more powers to residential committees, distribution of power etc. which are in
no way connected to real issue at hand.
Kejriwal remains silent
about some of the most important and core issues of our nation, which needs to
be dealt with ideological clarity – like Kashmir issue, atrocities against
dalits, Hindu fundamentalism, anti-Pak politics etc., are some of them. When
asked about Modi, he says “no comments on individuals” – which is completely absurd
and an escapist strategy. In AAP meetings, Kejriwal shout slogans like, ‘Vande
Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. A sample survey in Delhi says half of the
voters of AAP are supporters of Modi and are expressing anti-Pak sentiments.
What is the meaning of Kejriwal’s silence? A
person who says he has no opinion about contradicting ideologies and class
interests, who says he does not have a policy of his own – can be very
dangerous. When a question arose after the election as to whether AAP
can form government with the support of Congress, it escaped from taking such
an important policy decision by passing on the decision making responsibility
to people; not only that…it also project such a silly action as a very great
democratic act!
After coming to power
AAP fulfilled its promises on water and electricity. The Auditing officer has
been asked to audit the accounts of companies owned by TATA and Ambani, which
were showing losses. The media of the ruling class was furious about this. Be
it free water or reduction in electricity tariff - if the government subsidizes
from its tax income, it will definitely increase its financial burden. It is
true that AAP likes to be good to all and do good to all. But unless something
is taken from one class, nothing can be given to another. Unless agreements
with TATA’s and Ambani’s are terminated, it is impossible to provide water free
of cost or electricity at a reduced tariff. Will Kejiriwal do so? If we imagine
so, then it has to be ready to face the ire of the ruling class, the
bureaucrats, the judiciary, and international financial institutions. Kejriwal’s says that good
governance can be ensured once the corruption that is depraving the
parliamentary democracy is abolished – not only this imaginative tale, his very
own government would collapse in front of his own eyes. When that happens, the truth will be revealed that
this very political system and re-colonization policies are first and foremost
sources of corruption!
Contact:thenewmaterialists@gmail.com
25.01.2014
