Over the past few days , Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party have been making headlines. This is what a common man thinks of AAP and its moves…
Over the past few days, Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party have been making headlines. Front page headlines have been synonymous with them since the formation of the party. They got fame in whatever they did, be it the pre -poll campaigning or the collection of funds. But they were successful in connecting with the janta , the Delhi poll elections are evidence of the same.
Arvind Kejriwal was seen as that angry, frustrated common man out to correct the wrong. No one ever doubted his intentions but people always questioned his ways. Will a common man be able to cope with the nitty gritty of politics? By winning the Delhi elections Mr. Kejriwal has certainly showed that one can fight elections in a transparent way devoid of corruption. He has certainly connected with the people of Delhi and of India, in general.
Even on his swearing-in ceremony, he reiterated that he was not hungry for power and that he had come into politics to give the power back to the common man. He also mentioned that he will bringing certain systems into place where the common man will be given the real power. Question remains, how will he do that while remaining under constitutional boundaries.
Days within formation of government, the Aam Aadmi Party delivered two of its major promises- delivering 20 kilolitres of water free of cost and slashing the power tariff by 50 percent. The two moves will benefit majority of the population in Delhi and be welcomed by the common people.
On giving it a bit of thought, one may think of the decisions as a public-pleasing stunt. With the Lok Sabha Elections around the corner and the Aam Aadmi Party contesting on over 100 seats, there are allegations levied on Mr. Kejriwal for being opportunistic. The opposition BJP and even a few leaders from the Congress are questioning his moves regarding the providing of free water. As almost 40 percent of Delhi households do not have a pipeline connection, they will not be able to avail of this facility. Also both BJP and congress leaders are asking why no move was taken to curb the rampant illegal supply of water in Delhi through the tanker mafia. This might be a little harsh on the government as the opposition is asking them to do in 5 days what was not done in 15 years. But the valid question is that providing almost 667 litres of water free to each family every day would eat into the profit of the already ill –supplied JAL Board of Delhi.
On the cutting down of power rates, this move will be affecting over 28 lakh of the 34 lakh households in delhi. The move of cutting down the power rates by half will cost the government 200 crores. Also the government is likely to announce the power audit of various state electricity distribution companies.
Many experienced leaders have snubbed the policies of Mr. Kejriwal as being public pleasing and un-sustainable; now whether they hold up in the long run is yet to be seen. One thing is for sure. Mr Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party have certainly brought a fresh approach to politics. They certainly have delivered on their promises for now. Whether they will be able to maintain the same standard all throughout is the big question.
For now, they have won the battle and are gearing up for the long war. Delhi is being run by ‘Aap ka CM’.
