Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED for the liquor scam. Reportedly, he had skipped 9 summons from the ED in the excise policy case before being taken for remand. Nationwide protests have been erupted by AAP against Kejriwal’s arrest. One of the party leaders Atishi Marlena has claimed that the office of AAP has been sealed during the election preparation. This is a crisis of own making by the AAP, as stated by former AAP leader senior journalist Ashutosh.
The Aam Admi Party is India’s newest political party was birth by the anti-corruption movement. Second Kejriwal and Anna Hazare lashed out at those who were listed as corrupt. Later Arvind Kejriwal subsequently apologized to many of his colleagues from the political parties, he had earlier charged as corrupt. For the first time, a sitting chief minister in India had been arrested. Several of those who joined his journey have since left him and either joined another political party or gone back to the professions that they came from.
The Aam Admi Party was formed by criticising other political leaders for corruption charges, but at this point, the party seems to have failed its track. Arcing Kejariwal failed to create a second round of leadership. The political party came into existence from a moral ground and if you start losing that moral capital then automatically you are appropriate by the politics itself. AAP would not have faced this crisis if it had remained the same as its formation times during 2013-14. However, it tried to imitate the path of other traditional political parties. Whereas AAP, unlike the other political parties, did not have the institutional robustness and memory to deal with a crisis like this. But here this is a kind of party which does not believe in a sense of organisation.
The Aam Admi Party has only revolved around Arvibd Kejriwal. Now that he is in jail, it is a difficult situation for the whole party because the other party members are capable enough to make any decisions. Other than Kejariwal two of the important leaders, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh who could have worked independently for the party are also in jail.
Most of the top political leaders are narcissists and have a very strong belief. It is because they believe they have done divine power and they will not commit any mistake. Kejariwal is an extremely talented person and he can fight back but his party is fragile which is the biggest challenge for him. The charges that had been put against Kejriwal are very serious and have substance. Many times the charges against the political leaders in this competitive and envious scenario are cooked up. Therefore it is not appropriate to say whether any of the leaders have taken money or not.
During the Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement, there was a long list of politics. leaders and ministers whose names and posters were displayed frivolously by the same people themselves. Later, many suited defamation cases against Kejriwal and to some of them he apologised and did not ally with them.
As Arvind Kejriwal argues he was not holding any portfolio so whatever corruption happened his signature or approval is not there on paper is bizarre reasoning to believe. There is no decision or paperwork done without the knowledge of any chief minister or pie minister. If the ministers have done something wrong responsibility also lies with the chief minister. At the time Anna movement, the ideas were democracy, accountability, and transparency. When the committee were formed by the AAP and the government to coordinate and formulate the Lokpal bill, ravine Kejriwal used the entire proceeding to be telecasted. If one goes according to those words, is there any accountability, democracy and transparency in the party? The ideals he proposed then and based on those ideals people had faith in that movement. He has come to this far from those ideals.
Kejariwal was appropriated by the politics. He lost his initial ideologies, and innocence and was only driven by the ambition of winning to become a gladiator. Simultaneously, he was faced with inner rebellion in the party. The combination of all these issues probably has changed and disoriented Kejriwal.
Although there is nothing in the constitution that stops him from functioning as a chief minister from custody, the chief minister is the one who is the fulcrum of the administration. The whole government functions in his name. If he is in jail that means he cannot function as a chief minister per se. It is incapacitated that the Lt. governor his right to write a letter to the home ministry saying there is a complete constitutional breakdown in Delhi, either there can be a presidential rule or he can ask the assembly to elect a new leader. The topmost priority for the AAP should be to save the government come what may.
