OPINION

On February 14, a local Kashmiri youth turned Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber, blew the bus carrying India’s 40 CRPF security personal who were part of a convoy moving on NH44, in Pulwama district of Jammu & Kashmir. This gruesome act rose to clamour with Social Media acting as fuel to the fire and enkindling the desire for revenge among the self acclaimed nationalist forces including TV anchors, spokespersons of some parties etc. Moreover,the Prime Minister did not disappoint them andwe did ‘Surgical Strike 2.0’, a product of aflutter. Questions related to intelligence failure and security breach reasons of Pulwama attack were treated out of syllabus.

If not at the war front, the social media war mongers must be made to stay at least in border areas during tension days as this vainglorious breed needs to be shown the real pictures of war fronts and war like situations.

Soon after the dawn of freedom, India framed a constitution with a new philosophy of building a nation on the basis of equality, equity, freedom of religion and faith, justice with all its dimensions aiming at nurturing and promoting social unity and brotherhood along with upholding national integrity and sovereignty. India was conceived as a nation to march on a democratic republican path.

 Such a framework of governance presupposed certain conditions of social and political behaviour and training. For example, while assuring and ensuring the cultural and religious freedom to each section of the society, of the minority communities in particular, it was presumed that these communities would maintain a harmonious balance between identitarianism and nationalism.

Another example can be taken from the chapter on fundamental rights wherein various social, economic and political aspects of a free society were given due recognition, it was also expected that no right assumed an absolutist character. Article 19 can be cited as a fit case of striking a balance between individual freedom and social/national interests.

Given the vigour with which the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is pursuing for an alliance with the Congress in Delhi, one may finally witness some kind of an arrangement if not an alliance between the two parties. During her sojourn in the Capital recently for an opposition dharna recently, Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banrejee had said that AAP wanted to have an alliance but the Congress was still to respond.

In one last ditch attempt, AAP leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal even rushed to Puducherry to join a solidarity show with Congress chief minister V Narayanasamy against Lieutenant Governor of the union territory, Kiran Bedi. Indeed, whole lot of water has flowed in the Yamuna since 2011-12, when Kejriwal in company with Kiran Bedi had filed a corruption complaint against Manmohan Singh-led government, where Narayanasamy was an important Minister.

The AAP leader is believed to have even pleaded his case with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar. The Maratha leader, who is an ally of the Congress in Maharashtra, failed to issue any public advice, as Mamata did. The point to be noted here is that unlike Pawar, Mamata is not an ally of the Congress in West Bengal. Rather the two work at cross-purposes in the state politics.

The ever-in-conflict AAP government under the leadership of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal completes four years in the office. As we look back at the governance of AAP in Delhi, you will find several scams and incidents of conflict between the chief minister and the LG of Delhi and differences among their own party people than any development and good work done. Application in governance was expected from a government by a party which was formed out of an anti-corruption movement for the revolutionary Lokpal Bill. But what a big let-down!

To start with, 17 people charred to death in a hotel in Karol Bagh area of Delhi and the ‘honest’ government of Delhi failed to fix the responsibility as to who had given NOC to the hotel. The government had always had confrontationist attitude. It was at war with former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, and its at war with his successor Pradeep Baijal.

Despite making false claims, it failed to do anything on education as no benefits was passed on to either parents or students. Controversy over ration card by Delhi MLA Sandeep Kumar, then beating incidence of chief secretary, fake degree issue by one of the minister of the party, Somnath Bharati, one of MLA beating up he wife, hunger strike at the residence of LG, workers of the Delhi government going on strike, odd-even formula failing to give desired results, all IAS officers going on leave protesting against the government, allegations of CBI raids, use of marshals against opposition leaders in the Assembly, can be counted as ‘achievements’ of the Kejriwal government.

The past two months have witnessed several fake campaigns.  Each one of them has failed to cut much ice.  Falsehood doesn’t have longevity.  The ‘compulsive contrarians’ continued to jump from one falsehood to another.  The Rafale deal not only strengthens the combat ability of the Indian Air Force but saved thousands of crores for the exchequer. When its falsehood collapsed, a half document was produced to perpetuate the falsehood.  Little did the creators of this falsehood realise that the cost of producing half a document is loss of full credibility.

Those who organised loot on the banks between 2008-2014, started alleging that industrial loans had been waived.  Not a single rupee was waived.  On the contrary, the defaulters have been thrown out of management.  The falsehood that the Government and its Ministers were colluding to allow the economic offenders to escape was exposed when one after the other the investigative agencies were succeeding in bringing back many of the key defaulters and middlemen.