By Sushil Kutty
MLAs and MPs are placed such that they can make tonnes of money by shifting allegiance, the money credited to their bank accounts, like nowadays when the focus is on Jharkhand and Bihar MLAs fleeing BJP depredations with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi minister with multiple portfolios, Atishi Marlena, also alleging that AAP MLAs were being targeted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party.
If Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi Marlena are to be believed, the Bharatiya Janata Party tried to “buy” seven AAP MLAs at Rs 25 crore apiece with plans to buy the shifting loyalties of a total of at least 25 AAP MLAs. Now, the Delhi Police Crime Branch is trying to smoke Kejriwal and Marlena out into the open, asking them to provide details of the alleged BJP conspiracy. But for some uncited reasons, Kejriwal and Marlena are refusing to play ball.
The Delhi Chief Minister is known for his ‘shoot-and-scoot MO’, but for Atishi Marlena, also similarly equipped, is a recent discovery. The Delhi Chief Minister is an old hand at levelling unfounded allegations and then playing hide and seek after the shoot and scoot.
With a record like that, what made people vote for the AAP in their large numbers, as seen in Delhi and Punjab, is subject for MPhil scholars. Common sense would dictate common people not to vote for AAP for as long as Arvind Kejriwal is at the helm and the manner in which Atishi Marlena smiles is a definite ‘no-no vote’ for the Aam Aadmi Party. The mischief in Atishi’s eyes is an eye-opener if it isn’t a dead giveaway.
But, says Kejriwal, “I am being forced to join BJP, They are offering me, come to BJP, we won’t trouble you. But I won’t join them. They can do whatever they want. Nothing will happen. I am not going to bow down to them. They can hatch any conspiracy against me but I am standing firm against them. I will never join the BJP.”
And who can prove Kejriwal is lying? The finger will twist and point at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and BJP legislator Suvendu Adhikari. The latter left the Trinamool and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Both Sarma and Suvendu had central agencies gunning for them. There was also Mukul Roy, another of the ED-hounded.
The Enforcement Directorate is, after successfully acting against Hemant Soren, currently training its guns on Rohit Pawar, NCP strongman Sharad Pawar’s grand-nephew, and the RJD’s Tejashvi Yadav. But who can forget Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar’s nephew, the politician the BJP alleged was kingpin of corruption but clean to be appointed Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister?
Kejriwal perhaps has a point – a clean chit awaits him, too, if he “joins” the BJP. But what if he doesn’t take up the BJP invitation, would there be hell to pay? It is, however, hard to think of the BJP pining for Arvind Kejriwal. He is too volatile for any party. That said, Kejriwal is not Delhi’s Jail Minister like Satyender Jain used to be and Delhi’s jails are not the Crowne Plaza or Four Seasons. Arvind Kejriwal could find himself in a cell right next to a Tihar toilet.
Point is, nothing short of a miracle will save Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal if his stars are crossed, which is how it looks like. What happened to Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh portends dire straits for the Delhi Chief Minister. And this is the man who swore on his children’s heads that he will never join politics; that he will never have VIP tantrums; that he will “never join hands with corrupt Congress”.
Unfortunately, Kejriwal stands accused of all those and Atishi Marlena cannot save him with a silver tongue. If Kejriwal finds himself behind bars, Atishi Marlena might be the one in the ‘CM Mansion’ just like she took over Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s official residence after Sisodia was jailed.
So, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is getting hit from two directions. One, the Delhi Police Crime Branch is gunning for him, nail him with what looks like a lie. Does Kejriwal possess evidence to prove the allegation that the BJP tried buying 7 AAP MLAs for Rs 25 crore apiece? And then, there is the Delhi liquor scam case involving a number of AAP politicians and AAP the party itself.
Kejriwal is steadfastly refusing to heed the ED summons and now the ED has taken the Delhi Chief Minister’s intransigence to court. It is apparent that the ED is calibrating its response in a manner that will place Kejriwal behind bars at a time when he will be most needed to be free and campaigning for the Aam Aadmi Party.
Is Arvind Kejriwal the Smart Alec he believes himself to be? Not by a long shot. By cutting it so fine, the boastful AAP convenor is finding himself getting cornered. The Delhi Police Crime Branch case is at worst a headache, but the ED case is serious with the courts also not free with relief. The question is, where will Arvind Kejriwal be when all of India votes for the 18th Lok Sabha? (IPA Service)
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