A tale of two holidayers

There are similarities and dissimilarities between Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi. Both are in their forties; Mr Kejriwal is two years older.

Mr Kejriwal is an alumnus of IIT-Kanpur. He competed in the Civil Service Examination and got into the Indian Revenue Service. An RTI activist who earned the prestigious Magsaysay award, he came into prominence as a crusader against corruption and an aide of Anna Hazare, the mentor against whose wishes he formed a political party. He launched the Aam Aadmi Party and within a year, through dynamic leadership and massive media support, did unexpectedly well in the 2013 Delhi Assembly election. He formed a government with the support of the Congress.

As Delhi’s chief minister, he sat on a dharna and even demanded cancellation of the Republic Day Parade, but, shockingly, resigned after being in office for 49 days. Had Mr Kejriwal completed his term and shown results on the ground, he may well have been in the run for Prime Minister in 2019. But he was in too much of a hurry. Contesting against Narendra Modi in Varanasi in the 2014 parliamentary election and also putting up hundreds of candidates throughout the country, his and the AAP’s electoral results were disastrous. Even in his home turf, Delhi, he lost all the seven parliamentary seats. But in the 2015 Assembly elections, he apologised to the people for his mistake in resigning as chief minister and won a victory of unprecedented sweep, securing 67 out of 70 seats in the Assembly.

Mr Gandhi joined politics in 2004 and being a scion of the dynasty was catapulted to the top in his party under the care of his mother. The sycophant brigade hailed him as the icon of the youth. His youth brigade largely comprised princelings not in touch with ground realities and photo ops identifying himself with the poor did not pay much dividend. He spent more time abroad in his “suit-boot” at places like New York, London or, of course, Via Venchi in Rome. He spent more time abroad. Despite the vast resources of his party and all the build-up for him, his performance in successive Assembly elections was a series of costly failures. The young Gandhi’s constant reference to his ancestry and the sacrifices made by his family, well known to all, started sounding jarring. Theatrics like tearing up the ordinance of his own government or rolling up his sleeves in combative style during electioneering did not go down well. His interview on a TV news channel was disastrous. In the 2014 parliamentary elections, the Grand Old Party, with him at the helm, suffered the worst ever defeat in its long history. It was reduced to a mere 44 seats in the Lok Sabha. Analysts started pronouncing the end of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. For the first time in a party totally servile to the dynasty, disparaging remarks about the crown prince were heard.

In early 2015, Mr Kejriwal went on a medical sabbatical and Mr Gandhi on a mysterious sabbatical. Both returned invigorated. Mr Kejriwal adopted the tactics of a streetfighter, ignoring the imperatives of administration. Born again, Mr Gandhi returned overcharged and seems to be in election mode from now for the 2019 elections. He has been aggressive in Parliament and is desperately targeting Mr Modi on one matter or the other.

A succession of events after his sabbatical has undermined Mr Kejriwal’s image. He summarily expelled two stalwarts who were founding members of his party. A few hundred active AAP workers quit the party in protest. The AAP has now become “Akela Arvind Party”. Allegations have surfaced of him trying to win over Congress MLAs through questionable means and of corruption during Assembly elections. The suicide, or accidental suicide, of a rich farmer during an AAP rally at Jantar Mantar in full view of everyone cast a dark shadow. Two days later, he apologised for not intervening and continuing with his speech. The daughter of the farmer has made serious allegations.

Mr Kejriwal is now locked in controversy with the Lieutenant-Governor and has made accusations against Mr Modi. He has alleged that Mr Modi is trying to rule over Delhi like the Queen of England through the L-G as his Viceroy. He does not know that the Queen reigns and not rules. Delhi is a Union Territory. There may be a case for Delhi being made a full state, but so long as that does not happen, Mr Kejriwal should administer Delhi like his predecessors. The courts are seized of the controversy. His antics have included locking up the office of a bureaucrat, hurling accusations against another in public, and threatening the media with defamation. No chief minister in our country has behaved in this manner. Mr Kejriwal now wants to amend the Constitution of India in the state Assembly and impeach the L-G. A President who is elected can be impeached in Parliament. There is no provision for a Governor to be impeached. A Governor is nominated by the President and when he withdraws his pleasure, he quits. This has happened repeatedly with changes in the ruling party at the Centre.

I was Governor for 11 years in Assam and then Jammu and Kashmir. I worked with four chief ministers from different political parties. With two chief ministers, I had most cordial relations, with one, strained relations and with the other antagonistic relations over the Amarnath Yatra controversy. Yet, neither I nor the chief minister criticised each other in public, maintaining the decorum and dignity of our offices. Mr Kejriwal has written to chief ministers of all Opposition-ruled states to line up with him against the Centre to demand that state Assemblies should have the power to impeach the governor. Would any chief minister line up behind a chief minister of a city-state for such a bizarre idea?

A reinvigorated Mr Gandhi has been hitting out against Mr Modi and his government for anything and everything. A democracy is incomplete without an effective Opposition. Other than the Congress, no regional party is in a position to provide an effective Opposition at the Centre.

Mr Gandhi should take up issues of consequence and provide constructive opposition. He targeted Mr Modi for being abroad for 45 days when the Prime Minister was on a most gruelling schedule and achieved so much for the nation. But Mr Gandhi went on holiday for 57 days, enjoying life and doing nothing for the nation. People living in glass house, should not throw stones. When Mr Modi invited two former Prime Ministers to interact with them, Mr Gandhi spread the canard that he had done so to take lessons from Dr Manmohan Singh. This was being clever by half in a school debate. The person who needs to take lessons most is Mr Gandhi himself. His mentors and advisers should guide him better to play with dignity and poise the role that heredity has thrust upon him: Providing constructive opposition.