NEW DELHI: The developments of the past week show that there is not going to be an early closure to the Arvind Kejriwal arrest case. Unfolding of the events indicate that Delhi chief minister was probably waiting for another opportunity to play the victim card and he has been given the opportunity on the platter.
The arrest has been timed badly, it happened after the poll process had started raising eye brows across the globe. While the newspapers may just report that envoys of Germany and the United States were summoned for raising concern about the arrest, the fact is that hectic back channel diplomatic activities are taking place to avoid robbing of the lustre from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s highly expected third victory at the hustling. Now we have even the United Nations expressing concern.
To give the devil his due, Arvind Kejriwal has proved to be a much tougher customer than his rivals would have expected him to be. Despite a plethora of corruption charges, which has seen his close colleagues going to jail during the past year and also finally his arrest, he has no qualms in claiming himself to be squeaky clean. His hard stand vis-à-vis the Centre has also given some kind of an elixir to the opposition INDIA block, which in the national Capital on Sunday launched his wife Sunita Kejriwal as the interim face of AAP leadership.
Providing good governance to Delhi has never been Kejriwal’s primacy; to use the platform of Delhi government to enhance his party’s influence has been his priority. In the past few years especially after Vinai Kumar Saxena took charge as the Lieutenant Governor, the steering wheel of governing Delhi has shifted to Raj Niwas from Delhi Secretariat.
Thus realising that heaven’s would not fall on administration of Delhi if he was taken into custody, Kejriwal has decided to not quit so far. This he has done for two reasons, one he wants to force the hand of the Centre to dismiss him and take him a step closer to martyrdom and second save the ranks of Aam Aadmi Party from any rumblings by passing the baton to anyone of the surviving minister and annoying others.
This strategy has so far worked well for him and there seems to be no panic exits from the party till now and protests on the streets by AAP cadres and supporting parties have also been visible. His ‘passing of orders’ from behind the bars though administratively has no meaning, not that it was ever meant to be, it has created the right optics of an ‘incarcerated leader’ keeping in touch with his people.
What has added fuel to Kejriwal’s post-arrest campaign is the placing of the details of the electoral bonds in the public domain. Brought to the Rouse Avenue Court amidst high drama last Thursday, Kejriwal described his arrest as a “political conspiracy.” Himself making submissions in the court after taking the special judge’s permission, he expressed confidence that the public will give a “fitting reply to this injustice”.
Seeking to establish a link between the Electoral Bond donations received by the ruling party and his arrest, the Delhi Chief Minister said that people were being turned ‘approver’ in the case and being forced to change their statements giving instance of one of the approvers having paid a substantial sum of money to the BJP through the electoral bonds.
The BJP on the other hand has so far been ineffective in countering Delhi CM’s manoeuvres. With the Delhi High Court throwing out a public interest litigation (PIL) to dismiss his government, the justification in the public eye for the sacking of his government anytime in future would get more difficult.
The state unit of the BJP has miserably failed to create a counter campaign to AAP’s offensive. A situation has arisen where the BJP leadership would be weighing what was more politically damaging for them, to keep Kejriwal behind the bars or allow his release to campaign across the country as martyr.
Sidharth Mishra
Author and president, Centre for Reforms, Development & Justice