Sunday Snippets: An ordinance for Kejriwal!
By Venkatesh Raghavan
As Amir and I sipped specially concocted mocktails in the confines of our Irani café, the subject of discussion was how Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal felt agitated over the Centre’s decision to pass an ordinance to overrule the Supreme Court verdict in favour of the power of postings residing with the Delhi state government. Our conversation was somewhat along these lines.
Amir: I strongly feel that the Centre has become a big bully denying the Delhi state government its right to appoint suitable cadres to assist its tenure in office by bringing the Ordinance.
Me: Arvind Kejriwal fails to understand that if the bureaucracy postings are controlled by the Centre, he is less burdened and can function in a better way politically. All his problems will get solved.
Amir: What a defeatist view are you taking? You need to be spirited to fight such battles in the interest of justice and fair play.
Me: Far from being defeated, it’s a way to liberate the country from the clutches of the saffron lot. It also means that the Centre will not be able to derive any benefit from its ordinance.
Amir: You are speaking in riddles. I can’t follow what logic will such a move benefit Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)?
Me: Look at the bigger picture Amir. Firstly, do you recall when AAP refused to dance to the Congress tune at the cost of the latter withdrawing its outside support to his first-time government in Delhi? Kejriwal thereafter participated in the General elections across the country in 2014. At that point in time, people viewed it as an opportunism for AAP. As for the Congress, it got wiped out in the next Delhi elections in 2015 and 2020. If the Centre intrudes on the state government’s powers and forces it on its knees for survival, Arvind Kejriwal’s political party will get nationwide sympathy for being martyred at the altars of power.
Amir: Don’t you feel there will be stiff competition for the sympathy votes as Rahul Gandhi is already a recipient of the same? This will only lead to the division of votes and work in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party in power.
Me: No fears on that count Amir. One can safely bet that there is room enough for everyone. You just have to place a counter-strategy that will obfuscate the BJP’s plans to recapture power.
Amir: It again beats me. What actually do you mean by the expression “counter-strategy”? I need more clarity on that.
Me: AAP and Congress need not have any alliance. However, they can put a plan into action on how to obtain a division of votes that is otherwise dedicated to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Amir: Tell me how exactly do you propose the division of saffron votes?
Me: For a long time you have been witnessing defections to the BJP from other political parties that facilitate their government formation in various states. All he needs to do is to ensure a reverse flow of traffic that will sap into the BJP’s power base. To elaborate, in any constituency, there will be many aspirants for a BJP ticket to enter Parliament. The opposition parties just need to pool up their resources to back the staunch rebel BJP contenders and ensure that saffron votes are unavoidably split.
Amir: How much money is it going to take? Where will it come from?
Me: Jesus says, “Take no care for the morrow. Morrow will take care of itself.”
