AAP - an Experiment? Cerainly Not. It is Anarchy and Mayhem

AAP - an Experiment? Certainly Not. It is Anarchy and Mayhem.

(Dated 19-January-2014)

Whether AAP is an experiment?

Let me first analyze what ‘experiment’ means. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines the word ‘experiment’ as a controlled procedure carried out to discover, test or demonstrate something. It also means the process of testing. Oxford Dictionary defines ‘experiment’ as “a procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis or demonstrate a known fact.

Thus, an experiment is an orderly procedure carried out with the goal of verifying, refuting, or establishing the validity of a hypothesis.

An experiment usually tests a hypothesis, which is an expectation about how a particular process or phenomenon works. However, an experiment may also aim to answer a "what-if" question, without a specific expectation about what the experiment will reveal, or to confirm prior results. If an experiment is carefully conducted, the results usually either support or disprove the hypothesis. An experiment must also control the possible confounding factors—any factors that would mar the accuracy or repeatability of the experiment or the ability to interpret the results. Confounding is commonly eliminated through scientific control and/or, in randomized experiments, through random assignment.

When one applies these parameters to AAP, we invariably arrive at a conclusion that it is not at all an experiment but a disaster in waiting. Let us see how.

Now let us examine the two hypotheses of AAP – Governance and Economy. I am venturing to examine these two hypotheses even though AAP has not spelt them. The reason is without any hypothesis, there cannot any experiment.

First Governance:

AAP has been formed ostensibly to take on corrupt and inefficient Sheila Dixit government in Delhi. For good governance, Kejriwal cited rampant corruption by Sheila Dixit and for inefficiency; he cited ever increasing attacks on women in Delhi. Now if these two aspects are treated as his goal, what is he experimenting to achieve them? In his early public appearances along with Anna Hajare, Baba Ramdev, Kiran Bedi, et el, Arvind Kejriwal has publicly displayed 370 pages evidence and claimed he had already forwarded the same to Delhi Police, Central Home Minister, etc. After coming to power with the help of none other than Sheila Dixit, he has totally forgotten about the same and in a typical nonchalant style has asked Dr Harshwardhan that if he has any evidence against her, he will act in two days. A complete U turn!

Regarding ever increasing attacks on women, instead of devising and implementing any system, his Law Minister is moving in the middle on night along with his ruffian supporters and terrorizing the innocent women simply based on their colour of skin and race. What he and his supporters have done is in public domain and hence I am not repeating here except that Law Minister in his experiment to enforce safety of women has in fact molested the innocent women with impunity and with total disregard of the provisions of IPC and CrPC. Law Minister Somnath Bharti along with his ruffian supporters indulged in molestation, obscenity, humiliation of hapless and helpless women and racism. The law Minister, despite being a practicing Advocate has thus not only trampled on law and logic, but has crossed all known barometers of propriety and sobriety. The worst part is his boss Arvind Kejriwal, instead of taking any action, has endorsed his Law Minister’s action and has demanded suspension of the police officials. If police officials are not suspended, Kejriwal has threatened to launch agitation in front of Home Minister’s office for their suspension on Monday, 20th Jan 2014 at 10.00am. It seems Kejriwal has blissfully forgotten that he is no more an activists and is now a CM of a State. CM of a State does not agitate, but take proactive action in terms of the law of the land. This proves an old adage that “ceremonial horse cannot run on the race track”. This gives rise to another point for debate: Is Kejriwal even a ceremonial horse?     

Somnath Bharti has also faced the flak on his calling of the meeting judges. Was it not an attempt to bring judiciary under the influence of executive? This is not even permitted under the Constitution? Somnath Bharti is a practicing Advocate. Obviously, he was aware of these legal nuances. Even otherwise, he could not have pleaded ignorance of law as ignorance of law is no excuse. Yet when he brazenly tried to call the meeting of Judges, was he not subverting the judicial system?   

AAP has also set up vigilante squads who roam around public schools for fact finding. What are they doing is a million dollar question. But AAP has replaced the Education Department with some unlawful and illegitimate Vigilante Groups. This is called subversion of the legal and administrative procedures and not an experiment. His tall claim of opening 350 schools in Delhi is humanely impossible. Yet he is beating the drums on that account.

Women’s welfare Minster Rakhi Birla is another issue in itself. She faked attack on her car. AAP vigilante squad of ruffians is reported to be interfering in the management of TB Hospitals and is asking Doctors to administer TB injections to a patient because they think he suffers from TB!

Another Minister Manish Sisodia is exhorting Naxals to join AAP. His leaning towards naxal ideology is too well known to be dismissed by anyone. Another Minister Prashant Bhushan is loose on Kashmir and doing everything to threaten the integrity of India by his talk on referendum, despite being fully aware of the repercussions of such idea on other parts of India.

A slight deviation to national scene: Kejriwal has said if he goes to Loksabha, he will change the Constitution. However, when asked to elaborate, he failed to spell ‘why’ and ‘what’ about the proposed replacement of the Constitution. He is unable to spell his stand on India’s foreign policy, economic policy, defense policy, counter terrorism policy, etc. etc. Kejriwal is simply shooting his mouth before the Media, who unfortunately is acting as his PR agent.

These few illustrations provided by AAP ministers themselves amply make it clear that AAP does not know the difference between activism and governance. In fact the concept of Governance seems to be completely foreign to them. Can we say that AAP is working towards any goal vis-à-vis good governance? If they are not, how can one describe whatever they are indulging in as an experiment?

The second one is Economy:

If you see the election manifesto of AAP, it is full of freebies and more ideologically similar to the communist manifesto released in 1848.

AAP is indulging in populist measures without clearly spelling out the remedies. The free water amounting to 20,000 ltrs per month for a family, reduction in power tariff through subsidy is completely eye-wash and dangerous to the economy are very much talked about.

First, free water: Delhi Jal Nigam water chares are as follows: For first 10,000 litrs water charges are Rs.5.25.  For next 10,000 liters, water charges are Rs.20/-. Thus he has given concession of Rs.20.25 per family who have meters installed. They are mainly middle class and above. I am sure no one from middle class and above would rejoice with this concession, because if he/she is not in a position to spend Rs.20.25 per month on water, it is surely not a sign of financial poverty of middle class and above but a mental poverty of that class. It shows, for freebies, people will vote for any one and every one.  

Now reduction in power tariff: Kejriwal has openly claimed that power companies are making unjust profit and if he comes to power he will reduce power tariff by reducing the unjust profit of these companies. But what did he do? He reduced power tariff through subsidy and gave that subsidy to the power company. How is he going to raise the finance for that subsidy? He has not spelt it. When asked on that issue by the reporters, he simply walked away. The only inference that can be deduced from this is his claim of power companies making unjust profit is unsubstantiated. If his charge against those companies was true, why did he give the subsidy?

So far, we have neither seen governance nor any economic measures at State level from AAP. What we have been presented is a sheer anarchy, subversion of the present legal and administrative system, mayhem through formation and letting loose of vigilante groups, et el. Your expectation that AAP will force BJP and Congress to field good candidate is too simplistic and does not support the theory of AAP being an experiment in the given context. One cannot assume that AAP is fielding good candidate. This is a dangerous assumption and proposition.

Media has projected Kejriwal as a Rainbow of hope for India. I say he does not have colours of rainbow but has seven myths.

Myths about Arvind Kejriwal and therefore AAP:

Myth 1: He’s a middle class phenomenon

The 2011 August Kranti agitation led by Anna Hazare was a middle class phenomenon. In 2012, when Kejriwal took on the likes of Robert Vadra and Nitin Gadkari, then the middle class was cheering him on.

Even when the Aam Aadmi Party was launched, it seemed like a party of, for and by the middle class. However all Kejriwal’s association with the middle class ended there. AAP campaigned in the jhuggi jhopdis, among autowallahs and the like.

Their major promises of free water, electricity bill cuts and 500 schools have absolutely no bearing on the middle class but the lower classes. Most of the middle class stayed with the BJP and that’s why they are the biggest party in the Delhi Assembly.

Myth 2: He represents a new kind of politics

Go through the AAP manifesto and you will find that it has more ideological similarities with the Communist Manifesto released in 1848 rather than the post-1991 liberalized India of today.

Most of the voters do not bother to go through manifestoes and check with ideologies and that’s why the AAP has got away on this count.

One may as well call him Arvind Karl Marx.

Myth 3: He has great ideas for the country

Freebies and subsidies are destroying the country and we are facing a financial collapse. So how will increasing freebies and subsidies make things better? Even something like 500 new schools is impractical in Delhi where land is at a premium.

How about beefing up the water and electricity supplies, modernizing them and cutting down on wastage and theft? Even if they want to do that they will not be able to do that thanks to this dole system. And how about improving the standards of the government schools in operation rather than building new ones without letting loose vigilante groups of ruffians?

They oppose nuclear power without giving any clarity on how we are going to meet our power shortfall. Prashant Bhushan also talked of giving Kashmir away which would be a highly disastrous move.

Myth 4: He’s an alternative to the BJP

When we got Independence, we were a firmly Left-leaning nation with all political parties, intellectuals, editors, historians, NGOs and civil society activists occupying that space. The only alternative to that is the BJP which leans to the Right.

Kejriwal and AAP also lean to the Left, so how are they an alternative to the BJP? AAP at the most is an alternative to the Congress, the CPM, the SP, the BSP, the Trinamool Congress.

Myth 5: He’s a PM candidate for 2014

When Goa got its first Chief Minister, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party stormed to power and not the Congress. The Asom Gana Parishad came to power in 1985 in the very year it was formed. Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was in his early thirties then.

The most sensational debut in an Assembly was NT Rama Rao and the Telugu Desam Party. Within a year of formation, it won a whopping 201/290 seats in Andhra Pradesh. The truth is that AAP is not the greatest debutant as it is being made out to be.

But the national scene is a different thing all together. C Rajagopalachari was our first Indian Governor General after Independence. But his Swatantra Party became the chief Opposition only in 1967.

The Congress was formed in 1885 and the RSS in 1925. Even the Left parties, around since before Independence, got their best electoral show in 2004. If one said that AAP could be the third largest party in the Lok Sabha after Congress and BJP in 2019, then it’s slightly possible.

Plus how is AAP going to rule if it keeps swearing at all parties and says it will have absolutely nothing to do with them?

Myth 6: He’s the outsider

Kejriwal was a bureaucrat and it is the bureaucracy which is running the country. Then he was part of civil society which is also close to the establishment.

In that manner people are trying to compare him to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi calling them both outsiders, but that is totally wrong. AAP is the darling of the ruling establishment in India and if you notice that he has the mainstream media eating out of his hands.

Myth 7: His is a party with a difference

If you combine the above factors then you’ll realize that there’s not much to differentiate between the AAP and other parties. They all try to woo the voters with freebies and take the secular path even if that brings them in close proximity to the fundamental hardliners. The AAP has taken outside support from the Congress, something they said they would never do. They have been high on name calling too.

The entire anti-Modi industry first leaned on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi as the great new hope and then even someone like BJP patriarch LK Advani briefly. They also flirted with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan but their latest darling is Kejriwal.

In short, Kejriwal and his AAP have no vision. They do not have even an idea about Governance and Economy. They only survive on calculated support from main stream media. A loose coming together of people with different ideologies under the banner AAP with no clear idea of what they want to achieve for the nation with reference to its integrity, economic growth, foreign policy, defense preparedness, etc. cannot at all be called an experiment. It is sheer anarchy and mayhem.