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AN OPEN LETTER TO ANNA HAZARE

Respected Annaji

Namashkaar. Nayee Baras ki Shubh Kaamnaaye. Greetings of the New Year, although little belated.

Hope this finds you in good health and at peace. Must be really relaxed and happy that you have been able to influence, however little, the clearance and passage of Lokpal Bill. That you have decided to go with the government draft is a tribute to your accommodative spirit, which is very essential in the larger public space of governance. That you went by the suggestion and opinion of Justice Santosh Hegde makes it fair enough. After all he too was part of the original Janlokpal andolan. Having parted company with your former deputy and associate Arvind Kejriwal, his divergent stand wouldn’t have really disturbed you. However, you had publicly stated “Those who are not happy with the format can go ahead with their agitation for a better Lokpal Bill”. How much more can happen on this Bill, we may only have to wait and see. But the fact remains, the current bill is a very diluted one. But let’s hope it’s a good beginning and it will keep changing for better. 

Annaji, you have for a longtime gave yourself up in the cause of social issues. 

We do realise that you had no personal agenda when you worked for the betterment of areas around Ralegan Siddhi. Your agitation for corruption free governance in Maharashtra is a public knowledge all over India, for all those who used to read news papers. Thus you had already created an image of a fighter against corruption. However, in your Maharashtra state there are intellectuals who do not take you very seriously. Do not know why? There are also those who think you do have friends in the corridors of power, whom, they allege, you do not criticise. Is this true? All media savvy men and women know that irrigation scam under M/s Ajith Pawar & Sunil Tatkare was one of the biggest, but strangely Anna had no stand on this, says your detractors. How true is this? There are also others, who talk of you disrespectfully. All these in your state of Maharashtra. That indeed send confusing signals.

Coming to corruption, we all know it is a pan-Indian malaise, and the fight quite rightly, had to go national. On the issue of corruption, there were rumblings in Delhi too. Arvind Kejriwal, who too was primarily interested in a cleaner political administration of the country, joined hands with you, with campaign associates like (father & son) Bhushans and Kiran Bedi. Justice Hegde in your India Against Corruption movement was like an icing on the cake. Your fight became, so much, more relevant.

Arvind Kejriwal is a qualified engineer from one of the best institutes, IIT Kharagpur, and then cleared his IRS to become the Income Tax Commissioner. Even as he was working he worked for the empowerment of aam aadmi through RTI. His work was internationally recognized and that brought him Magsaysay Award at an young age of 38. That’s indeed a big achievement. So, at the top of his popularity and acceptance he gave up his cushy job, at the alter of service, for a larger cause. It does make him a great soul. This quality alone is the greatest single factor that influenced the runaway success of AAP.

Yes, any of us can become an activist, because not much is at stake. But to give up a position of power and money at a young age needs courage of conviction, clarity of purpose, and above all, a large heart. That he had all these, was never in doubt. Your association – Anna and Arvind - worked  really well. You were the moral force and he was the brain. You were the engine and he was the prime mover. Your association brought the union govt. almost on its knees. Rest of course, as the cliché goes, is history.  

In the intervening months, union government let you down. Arvind decided rightly that politics is the only thing that can force the issue, since the govt. had already betrayed, by not acting on its promise. Arvind felt that going political is the only way. Besides you are aware that spokespersons of UPA government of the day, had many time taunted your movement and had challenged you to join the electoral fray if you want to change things. You didn’t agree, with Kejriwal, and the association was divided right down the middle, with Kiran Bedi and Justice Hegde agreeing with your “NO POLITICS”. Bhushans and Kejriwal remained committed to the political initiative. 

Anna, you have to recognise that Kejriwal was initially not interested in electoral politics, at all. Even now, after perforce, he had to launch a political party, due to circumstances beyond his control, his clear stand is, “I am not here to make a career out of politics.” Besides, he didn’t grab the opportunity offered by the Congress on the 8th Dec, the result day, itself. Clearly he was not an opportunist. And you, unlike others, know him better.

Yes looking back, Arvind proved his point. He almost ran away with the majority. Not only Arvind was proved right, whole lot of people who voted for him, some 30+% of Delhi voters, they have spoken. Spoken loud and clear. Aam Aadmi Party has arrived and Anna, don’t you think, you and Kiran Bedi have remained there only, when Arvind left you far behind! 

Now, can you give one good reason why you didn’t join him? A reason that can stand scrutiny of reasoning. You didn’t have any then. You don’t have any now. Hence you have stated, when AAP won 28 seats but below the halfway 35 mark, “If I had campaigned for him he would have won the majority”. Indeed, that’s as true as the day light. In fact when I visited Ralegan Siddhi, along with 3 others, it was just to convince you to change your mind. We had come there, as well wishers of Aam Aadmi Party, three of them were functionaries of the Local Unit of AAP in Mangalore. It was 4 days before the Delhi election, that we called on you. You were very gracious, you arranged food for us in the canteen of your centre. Your stand was, there should be no political party, people must directly elect representatives. After 66 years, you know, like all of us, it is not possible to reverse the system. Your stand was not only unthinkable but was also impractical.

In the evolving dynamics of democratic polity of our country, it will certainly pay for all of us to join AAP. Of course, it is not to suggest, that all that they are doing or saying is 100% right. They are raw, they need to fine-tune their approach. But they have a honest desire to bring change. They may take time, but they are young. They will make their mistakes and they will surely learn. But certainly, if you do not join them, what can become of your movement? Have you thought about it? They have done it without you, and they continue to grow without you. One day they will become the national game changer, not just in Delhi. Danger for you is very clear. Writing on the wall is very clear. Even if so late in the day, if you do not join Arvind Kejriwal and his AAP, Annaji YOU WILL BECOME IRRELEVENT. Fortunately you are a person with no ego problem, hence we do hope, you will have no difficulty in reversing your stand, in the larger national objective, and join Arvind Kejriwal and his AAP.

When AAP formed the government in Delhi, you had responded to the query, ‘what do you think about Arvind Kejriwal?’ You had stated “He will do good”. So, deep down in your feelings, you mean well for him. So in the larger scheme of things, you should openly come out in his support. Kiran Bedi too should have joined AAP. She didn’t join, may be partly due to personal ego, since she is much older to Arvind Kejriwal. Professional jealousy some time has the better of you. So she is a victim of her own ego. She was, I am told, even offered Chief Minister’s position by Arvind Kejriwal, before the election, but she refused. She missed a great opportunity to leave her indelible footprints on the shifting sands of time. That could have really helped Arvind to spread the AAP in other parts of India. Anyway that was not to be.

Here one pertinent point has to be made to see the truth. Recently the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha passed the diluted Lokpal Bill. Do you seriously believe, it is because you fasted in Ralegan Siddhi! Quite frankly, after the recent assembly election to 5 states, where Congress was mauled beyond hope and BJP romped home in 3 states and was the biggest party in Delhi and was denied the chance to rule Delhi by an year old debutant AAP, these 2 major players in national politics were convinced that aam aadmi wants Lokpal and the arithmatic was to think that its passage can be claimed as their achievement, to be tomtomed at campaign during April 2014 hustings. Only this consideration decided the passage of Lokpal Bill, without much of a debate.

Dear Anna, think clearly, if you are truly serious of bringing about change, join Aam Aadmi Party, not people like Gen V K Singh. At least you know Arvind Kejriwal better, than you know Gen V K Singh. It is too early to say, how genuine is Gen Singh. He may be clean, but may be having political ambition. And ambitious people can be dangerous at times. Thus yes, as a senior activist, you have the responsibility of protecting and standby junior activists for the larger good of the socio/political landscape of the country.

So this is to earnestly appeal to you to make up your mind and throw your lot with Aam Aadmi Party. Or is your intransigence beyond hope?

Yours ever Indian

Jayaram Shriyan

An open letter to Mr Kejriwal

Dear Arvindji,

It has been a long wait. 66 yrs after we rejoiced on the streets celebrating our Independence, there is palpable hope. Every heart genuinely caring for our motherland feels that the time has come for that moment in history. The recent political broom of AAP has indeed captured the imagination of our nation.

All look forward to strengthen your effort to rid our land from the charlatans who masquerade as our political mai-baap. They offer us doles, subsidies from our very own hard earned money they collect as taxes. Instead of strengthening our infrastructure – our highways, railways, transport – our arteries and veins; our educational system – our cerebral temples; our law enforcement forces – our tonsillar  guards to check crime; one can go on and on.

And AAP Sir, stands aloft bearing a burning torch at a critical juncture of our country’s destiny. These are indeed testing times. Do please have the courage to take time, to contemplate and comprehend. The flash bulbs of media glare can only be blinding. Even with stellar intentions, haste has often been a waste.

The AAP Law minister probably genuinely got all fired up with his constituency’s frustration in tackling the drug trafficking, alleged prostitution, and all the social evils that follow. But activism whether by the common man on the street or by the chief minister must necessarily tread cautiously. You have declared war Sir, and that implies strategic planning. Rushing to the front lines could be praised for the sheer courage but can be fool hardy. The country simply can’t afford, this brazen gunning down of AAP street revolution by the electronic and print media.

In Yogendra Yadavji, in Shri Prashant Bhushan and in some new spokeswomen in Delhi we have sane venerable voices. She had the courage to apologise for the law minister’s inappropriate burst saying he could spit on the faces of other legal colleagues – Jaitleys & Harish Salves. These sane voices seem to have learnt an important lesson of life – Learn not to react, but to respond.

Genuinely fine people seem to be gravitating towards AAP. We understand that you had requested Kiran Bediji to be the Chief Minister of Delhi. Why she is not on the same page as you, confounds us. Even with good intentions, media men Ashutosh’s easy irritability, Kumar Vishwas’s theatrics, Law Minister Bharti’s inappropriate language are all reasons for concern.

Lets take the worst criticism in our stride. Someone called “Arrogance” the middle name of AAP. Harsh it is. Yet its time we condemn issues, not people, not even name political opponents, nor even constitutional instruments like condemning all the police personnel. ‘I am clean, and you all are bad” creates disquiet. You have to build bridges among differing perceptions.

While ordering CAG audit of private power distributors, you had rightly claimed “what the previous government couldn’t do in 4 years, we have done in 4 days”, and expressed happiness when told that Haryana & Maharashtra are reducing power tariffs as AAP effect. But your other remark was eminently uncalled for “We will teach them politics”. There is an apparent element of arrogance in this statement. Yogendra Yadavji would never have made it. Please note, quieter you do your job, more respect AAP will command.

Your latest agitationist politics of taking to the street is not a right thing for a Chief Minister to do. Not sure, if this will win you friends and influence people. All your points could have been discussed with the Lt. Governor and leave the agitation to your party and MLAs. Even if you are to go for agitation, as a last resort, could have kept LG in the loop.

Isn’t it the aim of AAP to reach out to each citizen of the country and ignite their sense of patriotism, of fairness, of a just and equitable society?

Our country has been a witness in the past of anticorruption crusades –  J.P. movement, V.P.Singh’s rebellion are clear examples. AAP has caught the imagination of the aam aadmi on this very plank. So it has to rise above sloganeering. Theatrics even if unintended should be carefully dusted off from the body politic of AAP. The momentum that you have garnered shouldn’t get buried by the sands of time. It is a historical opportunity knocking on the Altar of our Democracy. Let it not be drowned by populism, my friend.

Surely you wouldn’t want circumstances making you a “Khaas Aadmi” of the Aam Aadmi. We hope you will seize the opportunity of retreat from the janata durbar experiment, from the Rail Bhavan to introspect and strategize. It is a long dusty uphill road and there are indeed miles to go. So varied are the expectations and so diverse our magnificent country’s problem that these can come as a cascading avalanche enough to smother. Do back your clarion call with equanimity and uncluttered thinking

With admiration & respect 

Chitralekha J.S