Will Kejriwal Follow In Khurana's Footsteps?

Arvind Kejriwal's image may have been spotless until now in the alleged liquor policy case, many of his ministers and MLAs have been caught in corruption cases. It was expected from Kejriwal that he would clear the way for clean and alternative politics in the country. But he has disappointed the country with his hollow claims, promises, and actions

Two days after being released on bail from Tihar Jail, Arvind Kejriwal has created a stir by resigning from the post of Delhi's Chief Minister. Kejriwal says he will only sit on the Chief Minister's chair if the people re-elect him in the Assembly elections, considering him honest. Looking at Delhi's recent history, we find that in 1996, Madan Lal Khurana also resigned from the Chief Minister's post when his name surfaced in the Jain Hawala case. He had also said almost the same thing then as Kejriwal is saying now. Khurana had said that once he is cleared of the charges by the court, he will again become the Chief Minister of Delhi. However, even after being acquitted in the Jain Hawala case, Khurana could not become the Chief Minister. The BJP leadership kept him away from the Chief Minister's chair. Due to this, the outspoken Khurana started making statements against his leaders. This more or less brought his political career to an end.

Who Will Be the Chief Minister?

Now the question is, who will be the Chief Minister of Delhi after Kejriwal's resignation? Delhi's current Education Minister Atishi may be given the responsibility of the Chief Minister. Kejriwal had entrusted her with the responsibility of hoisting the national flag at the Delhi government's program on the occasion of Independence Day. However, Delhi's Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena had assigned the responsibility of hoisting the flag to Delhi's Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot. The name of Kuldeep Kumar, who hails from the Valmiki community, is also being taken in the race for the Chief Minister. He contested the last Lok Sabha election from East Delhi. He is considered close to Kejriwal. If he becomes the Chief Minister, the Dalit vote can go en masse in favor of Kejriwal in the upcoming elections. However, Kejriwal can also make a Muslim or Sikh MLA of his party the Chief Minister. By taking such a step, he will give a very positive message. Delhi has never had a Muslim Chief Minister. Yes, Delhi's second Chief Minister Gurumukh Nihal Singh Musafir was a Sikh. While serving as Chief Minister, Musafir did not allow liquor shops to open in Delhi. Interestingly, the Arvind Kejriwal government had shown great enthusiasm in opening liquor shops in Delhi at one time. Musafir's son S. Nihal Singh was a prominent journalist.

However, even though Arvind Kejriwal's image may have been spotless until now in the alleged liquor policy case, many of his ministers and MLAs have been caught in corruption cases. It was expected from Kejriwal that he would clear the way for clean and alternative politics in the country. But he has disappointed the country with his hollow claims, promises, and actions.

When Development Happened Smoothly

Before Arvind Kejriwal, there were also governments and Chief Ministers in Delhi. Development happened smoothly between the elected governments of Delhi and the central governments. But as soon as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government came to power in Delhi in 2015, daily clashes and arguments began.

The first Assembly elections in Delhi were held in 1951-52. Chaudhary Brahm Prakash of the Congress became the first Chief Minister of Delhi. Chaudhary Sahab remained Chief Minister from 1952 to 1955. The Congress removed him and made Sardar Gurumukh Nihal Singh Musafir the second Chief Minister here. After that, Pandit Nehru's government at the center abolished the Delhi Assembly. However, in 1966, Delhi got a Metropolitan Council. This was equivalent to the Legislative Assembly. The head of the Metropolitan Council was the Executive Councilor. Leaders like Vijay Kumar Malhotra and Jag Pravesh Chandra also held this position. In 1991, Delhi was declared the National Capital Region by amending the Constitution again. Under the new delimitation, elections for the Legislative Assembly were held in 1993. After that, stalwarts like Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, Sushma Swaraj, and Sheila Dikshit became the Chief Ministers of Delhi. During this time, the government at the center was sometimes led by the Congress and sometimes by the BJP. But the wheel of development in Delhi never stopped.

When Madan Lal Khurana became the Chief Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister of the country. There was no problem. When Sheila Dikshit was the Chief Minister, the Prime Minister was Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Even then, Delhi was developing fully. There was no controversy at all. All controversies were being resolved through mutual talks. Atalji and Sheila Dikshit extended the metro rail in Delhi and solved the power problem permanently. It's another matter that Arvind Kejriwal kept saying that the 24-hour power supply in Delhi was possible because of him. However, he never explained why he could not solve the drinking water crisis in Delhi. Why did the Yamuna remain dirty? How did Delhi become the world's most polluted capital? Arvind Kejriwal never felt the need to answer these questions.

When you move ahead from the GT Road in Delhi, you start seeing the Black Mountain in Bhalswa from afar. This is a garbage heap. Similar garbage mountains are also in Ghazipur and Okhla in the capital. In the capital Delhi, where there are lush green Lutyens Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi Cantonment, and dozens of other magnificent areas, garbage forts spread over almost a hundred acres are a shame. These three garbage forts expose all the claims of Arvind Kejriwal. Helpless people live around them. There is a terrible stench from them all the time. Now, the Aam Aadmi Party has governments in the Delhi Assembly and the Municipal Corporation. But these garbage forts are standing as before or it should be said that they are getting bigger every day.

No one knows that as soon as the Aam Aadmi Party government came to power in Delhi in 2015, chaos spread. The situation got so bad that the Chief Secretary of the Delhi government, Anshu Prakash, was beaten up with kicks and punches at the Chief Minister's official residence. Such a shameful incident had never been heard before that an IAS officer would be beaten up at the Chief Minister's residence.

Well, it has to be said that the coming time is going to be quite challenging for Arvind Kejriwal and his party. Now the wind is not blowing in favor of him or his party in Delhi.

(The author is Delhi-based senior journalist and writer. He is author of Gandhi's Delhi which has brought to the forth many hidden facts about Mahatma Gandhi)