(Kiran Walia has taught Political Science at Delhi University for 32 years and thereafter been an MLA and Minister in the Delhi Government for 15 years.)I am often been asked why I decided to contest from the New Delhi constituency after 15 years of nurturing my earlier constituency of Malviya Nagar. The same people who ask me this question also provide the likely answers: it was a party decision which I could not refuse; the seat is a more comfortable one because of former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's base and deep roots (despite the loss in 2013); it offers a middle class electorate which has, since the last assembly elections, shifted base from the AAP; and so on and so forth. None of these reasons are correct. I chose to fight from the New Delhi seat because of an entirely different set of reasons.
Reasons that have to do with the nature of Delhi politics since the last election in 2013.
I have been in politics for the last 35 years, first as a Delhi University activist and later as a legislator and as a minister in the Delhi government. In both my avatars, I have first and foremost upheld the position of our statutory bodies and institutions as created under the provisions of the Indian constitution. When in doubt about actions or policies, the constitution has been my measure of right and wrong. The constitution guarantees certain protections under the law and to basic human rights. The oath to the Constitution taken by public servants and ministers binds them to upholding the law. And this is where Mr Kejriwal, a former civil servant, has gotten it so terribly wrong.
Since the emergence of the anarchist politics of the AAP, I fear that these rights are increasingly being violated, threatened and eroded by Mr Kejriwal. The unwarranted attack on African women by none less than former Law Minister Somnath Bharti under the AAP dispensation is a shocking example of the blow to our institutional foundations. If the AAP had no regard for human rights of residents of this city, it had even less for the position of India across the civilized world where such an act would have been punishable under law. However noble his intent, Mr Kejriwal repeatedly exhorting citizens to indulge in bribe-taking as a solution to dealing with corrupt officials is astonishing in that it wipes out with one stroke the difference between a law-abiding citizen and a criminal. The citizens of Delhi need to decide if the boundaries between right and wrong should be so summarily collapsed, and if the party that does so is the right party for the future of Delhi.
Secondly, I have served the citizens of Delhi for the last 15 years as a member of Delhi's Legislative Assembly and as a Minister. I have been witness to the astounding transformation of the city in these 15 years. The city is crying for strong leadership and the vision to develop it into a world-class capital. In January 2014, AAP had a chance to move ahead on this agenda. They had a great opportunity to prove themselves and deliver on the promises they had made. But their promises were absolutely hollow and clearly they put little thought behind their accusations about inflation, about bringing down the costs of bijli and paani in Delhi, and about having an egalitarian and sustainable policy of gains for all residents of the city. Their policy amounted to taking from Paul to give to Peter. It is all very well to shout from the rooftops about seductive schemes, but an entirely different story to implement those in government. Devoid of any planning whatsoever, the AAP government fell flat. The bizarre and amusing spectacle of the AAP whilst in power in Delhi convinced me that the future of Delhi, as India's capital and as its foremost city, is at stake. My decision to fight from the New Delhi constituency is based on the fear that a victory for Mr Kejriwal will only extend the irrational and unsound policies of his party.
With every day that passes, I am convinced that we live in a country and in an age where one of the biggest protections we have comes not just from the freedom of expression, but also from the ideal of civility in public life which protects us from libelous statements and outright falsehoods. Not since the depraved days of McCarthyism in the US in the 1950s have we seen irresponsible politicians wave a sheaf of random papers and threaten to "expose" opposition colleagues as we have with Mr Kejriwal's expose politics. Does Delhi need this brand of crazy politics? Are we entering a phase where no one will take good decisions because of the fear of outrageous and unfounded accusations of corruption and malversation? Are all politicians, government officers, bureaucrats, media, judges and police corrupt, as Mr Kejriwal would have us believe? Do we want a "Mamata Banerjee model of governance" in India's capital city? The people of Delhi need good governance implemented through existing institutions and based on the rule of law, rather than an anarchist model of street protests by the government against itself!!
A final and convincing argument for taking on the New Delhi seat has been a sense of foreboding given the hubris of the AAP. When a Law Minister of the AAP commands the judiciary to present themselves to the government, then one is forced to consider whether the credentials of the AAP authorize it to govern at all. When the leader of the AAP views himself as beyond the reach of the Election Commission of India, one is forced to consider the value he places on the election process, a central aspect of democratic functioning. When a minister of the AAP gets into brawl over the right to passage on a Delhi street, one has to consider what she thinks of the rights of ordinary citizens. Mr Kejriwal's professed commitment to women's safety is a sham - in his 49 long days as CM he did not introduce any measure or even provide budgetary support to the existing schemes.
Craving funds, every benefit for the aam aadmi, be it EWS admissions, treatment in private hospitals, pensions or food security was waylaid by a 49-day government that was high on noise and agitation, but miserably poor on governance. The portents for democracy broadly, and for the democratic space of the residents of this city, do not look bright.
I am convinced that much rides on my decision to stop Mr Kejriwal in his tracks - the idea of Delhi's future and the fabric of democracy as we have known and cherished.
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