New Delhi: He calls himself a 'political revolutionary' now, but Arvind Kejriwal says that he had never imagined that he would plunge into politics, form a party and contest elections.
"I had never imagined that I would get into politics," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Chief Minister said.
Kejriwal threatens to 'go to any extent' for Jan Lokpal bill
When he sat on an unprecedented dharna on the streets of Delhi last month demanding action against some policemen, Kejriwal had described himself as an 'anarchist'. Today he explains that remark by arguing that corrupt political and corporate leaders, some bureaucrats and some in the media were living happily while the common man was unhappy.
"When we spoke about changing the system, it results in anarchy for these people. For them, yes, I am an anarchist," he told PTI editors here. Would he call himself a political revolutionary, the 45- year-old AAP leader was asked.
"Yes, political revolutionary, yes," he affirmed. What would he say to those who call him a dictator? "Do you think people like Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav can work with a dictator? So many people have come to us. Will they work with a dictator?", Kejriwal said.
The leadership of AAP has been 'inclusive' 'and if "we were dictators, even four people would not have stood by us," he said.
Asked if he had ever imagined his dream run in politics, Kejriwal said after his party was formed in October 2012, they had a hope of doing well but he had not imagined then that he would be the Chief Minister of Delhi.
To a question as to whether he now had ambitions of becoming the Prime Minister, he replied in the negative, emphasising that his was a cause of corruption-free India for which the AAP was fighting. "We have not come here to do politics of power".
Despite that could he end up becoming the Prime Minister? "You can make any prediction. Who knows!", he replied. Kejriwal is not yet sure whether he would contest Lok Sabha elections but said, "if a need arises, I would contest, but my first commitment is to Delhi".
AAP would identify Lok Sabha constituencies from where corrupt candidates from other parties would be contesting and fight against them. That number could be 150 or 200 or 250 or 350, he said.
"We are not saying, our party will form government at the Centre....but the more our people are elected to Parliament, more it will be difficult for corrupt people," he said.
Refusing to comment on BJP's Narendra Modi or Congress' Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal said, "all that I can say is both of them are part of the same political establishment. And I do not think, you have any hope from the two."
Kejriwal was clear that AAP would not go with any political party or be part of "power politics" in the event of a hung verdict in the Lok Sabha polls. "We will live, fight and die, you will just see", he said.
He does not mind being called a Chief Minister in hurry. "I think, one should be in hurry. Time is less and life is short. There are only 24 hours in a day," he said.
Asked how his life has changed after being catapulted into the seat of power, Kejriwal said the first causality was his family life.
The Saturday movie with the family had 'gone'. His official residence has no neighbours. In Ghaziabad, where he lived earlier, his mother and wife used to go out and chat with neighbours. Now the family had no choice nor did he.
"The day we can implement good policies, I will seek political 'sanyas' (retirement).... When the country changes for the better, the AAP would vanish," he said.
Reminded that this could take some hundred years, Kejriwal disagreed. People were getting awakened and were standing up. "You will see the light on the horizon," he said.
Next: Kejriwal says Lt Guv is fond of him, shares 'good equation'
Kejriwal says Lt Guv is fond of him, shares 'good equation'
New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal may appear to be at loggerheads with Lt Governor Najeeb Jung over Jan Lokpal Bill but the Chief Minister was effusive in praising him and said AAP leaders should be careful with their language despite their anguish.
Asserting that there was no 'cracking' in his relationship with Jung, Kejriwal said he hoped to continue with the "good equation" he has with the Lt Governor and described him as a noble person. "There is no cracking. I really admire that gentleman.
He is a very very nice guy and is particularly fond of me. So there is no cracking. My relations with him are very good. I feel he is a very noble person and my relations with him should always remain good," the Delhi Chief Minister told PTI Editors.
Kejriwal's comments came two days after he sent a strongly-worded letter to Jung asking him to protect the Constitution and not the interest of Congress and the Home Ministry, saying they were keen on stalling his government's Jan Lokpal bill.
The letter came a day after reports emanated that the Lt Governor had sought Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran's opinion on Delhi government's Jan Lokpal bill. Asked about AAP leader Ashutosh calling Jung a 'Congress agent', he disapproved of it and said the party leaders should be mindful of their words.
"In think we should be careful with our words. There could be anguish in the minds of some of our party leaders, but whatever be the intensity of our anguish we should mind our words," he said. However, he expressed unhappiness over the "leakage" of certain key communications from the Lt Governor's office. "I don't know who is doing this. May be he (Jung) is also a victim of people doing some mischief in his office, some coterie in his office."
Giving example of the leaks, he said the moment Delhi Government sent a file recommending removal of Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women to Jung, a TV channel started running a news that the Lt Governor was going to reject the recommendation.
"My office immediately contacted their office. Their office said LG has not written anything like this. This is media speculation. The next day when the file came to me, it had the same things what the media was saying," he said.
The Chief Minister described the issue as "serious" and added that "this is a constitutional crisis". "Some said that the Central Government is playing politics through LG. Then the issue came about my house that Arvind (Kejriwal) asked for it. Even that letter was leaked from there (LG office)," he said.
On why he used harsh language in his letter, Kejriwal said, "I tried to be soft (in language). I will be careful in future. The message has to go, but it has to go in a very polite language." Explaining context of his letter, Kejriwal said he personally wanted to meet the Lt Governor and discuss with him the issue of Jan Lokapal bill but before the meeting Solicitor General's opinion was leaked.
"I wanted to tell him that we had taken opinion of five people, cabinet has taken a decision, just brief him and explain him about the events. "Then before that, the news came that Solicitor General's opinion was taken and that it (introduction of the Bill without Home Ministry's approval) is unconstitutional and the process in which it is being done is also unconstitutional. Then I thought it is not right," he said.
