Chouhan won for lack of alternative, Madhya Pradesh BJP now rattled by AAP

With the unexpected success  of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal has put self-doubt in the minds of rival politicians. Now, with AAP throwing its hat in the ring in Madhya Pradesh too, the scenario is suddenly drastically changed.

Bipolar states such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand in the Hindi heartland would avidly watch the AAP progress during the Lok Sabha elections in April.

Kejriwal in the office of the CM. PTI

It was for want of a strong alternative that Madhya Pradesh just handed the BJP a third term. But the BJP's euphoria has subsided considerably after AAP announced its plans for the General elections. Even with no more than a fledgling organisational structure, AAP's Madhya Pradesh unit is flooded with membership applications. Former state chief secretary S C Behar is among the prominent new entrants in the Aam Aadmi Party here. The party may also rope in another former senior bureaucrat, M N Buch, and former director general of police Arun Gurtoo.

AAP recently marked its presence in the state with the arrest of its six workers who protested against chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan keeping two government bungalows for his use. The very issue which the BJP exploited against the AAP chief minister in Delhi recoiled on it in Madhya Pradesh.

AAP has also effectively exploited the scandal involving the professional examination board that continues to embarrass the BJP. Hundreds of candidates have passed different professional examinations with the connivance of bureaucrats, ministers and other BJP supporters to earn government jobs. The money that changed hands in bribes runs into several hundred crore rupees. The Congress failed to pin down the government on this issue. With the Scindia and Digvijay Singh factions slugging it out, the Congress's popularity ratings continue to drop. And AAP is the natural beneficiary. The party is also counting a large share of over six lakh NOTA (None Of The Above) votes that were cast during the Assembly elections.

Senior BJP leaders avoid discussing the AAP phenomenon in public. Former chief minister Kailash Joshi said the AAP influence in the state can't be denied outright, but his party would like to wait and watch.

The RSS has, however, cautioned its members against the growing threat without naming it. Sangh Supremo Mohan Bhagwat who addressed the workers' sankalp mahashivir (resolution camp) that concluded on Sunday at Jabalpur said they had forsaken austerity after the BJP came to power in some states. He said some Sangh members abused their position in the political organisation and even sabotaged the party candidate's election.
With the BJP's prospects of regaining power at the Centre brightening, it had become fashionable to join the RSS, said Bhagwat. But, he said, the new entrants lacked conviction. By just reverting to the agenda of austerity, some parties could overtake the BJP, he said, apparently referring to AAP. Bhagwat also cautioned Sangh workers against jostling to take credit for the BJP's success.

There is a raging debate on who should get the credit for the party's performance in the Assembly elections, the star campaigner Narendra Modi or Chief Minister Chouhan, who gamely shouldered the failures of a vulnerable team of ministers.

Now in his third straight term Chouhan shows firmness of demeanour and tone. He has already warned the bureaucracy of "zero tolerance" against corruption and has asked his ministers to draw up a 100-day action plan for departments. The clear refrain is: perform or perish.

Most ministers seen as performers during Chouhan's earlier tenure are ironically out of the team. Some are booked for corruption, some were rejected by the electorate and a few others were denied party nomination. Chouhan's repeated warnings on corruption sound hollow as there is no effort to pursue the cases pending with the Lokayukta against former ministers and senior bureaucrats.

For the entire clamour for clean politics the state has witnessed a six per cent rise in the number of MLAs facing criminal charges compared to figures of the 2008 elections.

The National Election Watch (NEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said that out of 71 MLAs with criminal records, 48 MLAs are from the BJP and 23 from Congress.

 

Bhushan’s view on Jammu Kashmir referendum is his own, says Kejriwal

After fellow party leader Prashant Bhushan sparked a controversy with his comments on the removal of army forces from Kashmir, Aam Aadmi Party Arvind Kejriwal today said he didn't agree that there needed to be a referendum in the state.

"We dont agree with what Prashant Bhushan said about Kashmir, it's his personal view," Arvind Kejriwal told reporters in Delhi.

We cannot have a referendum on Kashmir, but we must respect sentiments of Kashmiri people, he said.

Not on the same page on Kashmir? File image. PTI

The AAP leader's comments come in light of his party colleague seeking a referendum on the presence of the Army and the removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

"It is very important for us to win the hearts and minds of the people and prevent alienation. For that, the first thing which needs to be done is to remove AFSPA, which gives Army immunity in human rights violations," Bhushan said in an interview to a TV channel.

Bhushan, however, seemed to have moderated his earlier stand which had him reportedly favouring the separation of Kashmir if that was what was wanted by the people of the state.

He instead said that the separation of Kashmir Valley would be against the Indian Constitution and added that it may also cause harm to minorities like Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs who inhabit the state.

"Allowing the separation of Kashmir may lead to a problem where you have a separate state where minority rights are not protected by the constitution... Indian constitution protects minority rights," he said.

with PTI inputs

AAP targeting Rahul Gandhi? To hold rally in Amethi

Amethi: The Aam Aadmi Party, which is poised to contest Lok Sabha poll from Congress' bastion of Amethi, is organising a grand rally in Amethi on 12 January.

Congress VP Rahul Gandhi and AAP leader Kumar Vishwas.

Preparations have begun for the rally in which Kumar Vishwas, probable party nominee pitted against Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi from the seat, will participate along with other party members.

Local district convener of AAP, Hanuman Singh, said that preparations are on with youth lending support in a big way.

He claimed that AAP rally would mark the beginning of the end of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty politics here and hand over the reins of power to the common man.

People facing problems of unemployment and other local issues are looking forward to a change and AAP would provide them an alternative, Singh added.

PTI

National security cannot be decided by referendum: Jaitley on J-K

New Delhi: Strongly opposing AAP leader Prashant Bhushan's suggestion on deployment of armed forces in Kashmir with the consent of people, BJP on Monday hit out at his party for taking a "weak" stand on national security issues and said these cannot be decided by populism or referendum.

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley. AFP

Stating that it was "regrettable" that a party with national ambitions was adopting a position similar to that of Pakistan and the separatists that was hostile to India's interests, Arun Jaitley hoped that sensible elements in AAP will seek to reverse this "soft" stand, otherwise "the slope downwards will be faster than the movement upwards".

"The issues of national security cannot be decided by populism or referendum. They can only be decided on security considerations. Till such time the infrastructure of terror remains, the presence of the army in Jammu & Kashmir is essential," the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said.

Lashing out at the Aam Aadmi Party, he said, "It is Pakistan which has been suggesting the de-militarisation of the Valley. Some separatist groups have been echoing that demand. It is regrettable that for a party like the Aam Aadmi Party which nourishes national ambitions, should adopt a position hostile to India's interests," Jaitley said.

AAP leader Prashant Bhushan had on Sunday suggested that the issue of army presence in the Kashmir Valley may be decided by a referendum of the people in the Valley.

The BJP leader pointed out that the same leader had two years ago suggested a plebiscite in Jammu & Kashmir where people must be free to decide whether they wish to stay with India or otherwise.

Jaitley's remarks came even as Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today distanced from the views of Bhushan saying decisions on internal security are taken based on the law and order situation and there cannot have referendum on deployment of the army in Kashmir.

PTI

AAP may be heading towards same old toxic policies on quotas

With every passing day, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is beginning to look like any other party – if one were to take the simple halo of anti-corruption away from it.

Senior AAP leader Yogendra Yadav. PTI

Let's forget the initial freebies on water and power as unavoidable since these promises were made when AAP did not see itself as a likely contender for power. But now that everyone and his aunt is predicting a bright future for AAP not only in Delhi but in the national elections a few months down the line, shouldn't AAP intellectuals be spending more time formulating sensible policies that at least look different?

The Economic Times today published an interview with Yogendra Yadav where he says AAP will be looking at an extension of reservations for the disadvantaged sections of society.

He could not have said it more bluntly. "We will work for more reservation for disadvantaged groups. Discrimination on the basis of caste is extreme in India. Equally worse is discrimination based on gender and class. We will work towards the welfare of all groups that are victim to such discrimination."

How is this any different from what the mainstream national and regional parties do – which is about promising reservations to various groups in the name of backwardness?

His statement to ET is also at variance with an earlier interview to the The Indian Express, where he said AAP would be "deeply suspicious of radical ideologies of the 20th century."

Among other things, he had said that AAP would try and transcend the Left-Right categorisation or even try to occupy the middle ground - like the Congress party. In fact, he went so far as to claim that "the Right cannot have a viable politics here and the Left did not have an intelligent economics."

But is speaking about extending the ambit of reservations a new way of thinking about old problems?  And is this any way to keep on attracting the hordes of fresh faces now heading towards the AAP.

The main attraction of AAP for middle class professionals is that it is an equal opportunity party with no glass ceiling and with no pre-conceived notions on how to create inclusiveness.

In fact, the rush of talented individuals to AAP is directly related to the fact that its approaches will mark a break with the usual. AAP is believed to offer a meritocratic option to those who otherwise feel excluded and alienated from the political process.

In the recent Delhi election, AAP is said to have got 29 percent of the Dalit vote even without promising all kinds of reservations. Mayawati's BSP received a mauling despite masquerading as the prima donna of reservations and quotas.

If Dalits voted for AAP in significant numbers without thinking caste and reservations, what is Yadav's logic of now extending the idea further? Can inclusiveness not be achieved without quotas?

Maybe, AAP will not carry out the idea of reservations too far, but if it does, it will be a big downer for the very people who now see hope in AAP.

It will be betraying the people now rushing towards the party.

What India needs is not more quotas, but making affirmative action more effective by investing in skill-building and mentoring. In his last stint as Chairman of Infosys, NR Narayana Murthy proved the efficacy of this approach by actual practice. A 2006 Business Standard report quoted him as saying: "Last year, we chose 65 candidates from the disadvantaged sections and put them under intensive training. Subsequently, they were subjected to recruitment tests at Infosys. As many as 35 qualified for jobs at our BPO arm Progeon. This should be the approach."

Isn't this what a brand-new party like AAP be trying instead of opting for the same old route of reservations?

Bhushan’s view on Kashmir referendum is his own, says Kejriwal

After fellow party leader Prashant Bhushan sparked a controversy with his comments on the removal of army forces from Kashmir, Aam Aadmi Party Arvind Kejriwal today said he didn't agree that there needed to be a referendum in the state.

"We dont agree with what Prashant Bhushan said about Kashmir, it's his personal view," Arvind Kejriwal told reporters in Delhi.

We cannot have a referendum on Kashmir, but we must respect sentiments of Kashmiri people, he said.

Not on the same page on Kashmir? File image. PTI

The AAP leader's comments come in light of his party colleague seeking a referendum on the presence of the Army and the removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

"It is very important for us to win the hearts and minds of the people and prevent alienation. For that, the first thing which needs to be done is to remove AFSPA, which gives Army immunity in human rights violations," Bhushan said in an interview to a TV channel.

Bhushan, however, seemed to have moderated his earlier stand which had him reportedly favouring the separation of Kashmir if that was what was wanted by the people of the state.

He instead said that the separation of Kashmir Valley would be against the Indian Constitution and added that it may also cause harm to minorities like Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs who inhabit the state.

"Allowing the separation of Kashmir may lead to a problem where you have a separate state where minority rights are not protected by the constitution... Indian constitution protects minority rights," he said.

with PTI inputs

AAP distances itself from Bhushan’s comments on Kashmir referendum

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party today distanced itself from the views of its senior leader Prashant Bhushan that a referendum should be carried out in Kashmir to decide on deployment of the army to deal with security threats in the Valley.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said decisions on internal security are taken based on the law and order situation and there cannot have referendum on deployment of the army in Kashmir.

Arvind Kejriwal

"Deployment of the army within the country should be decided on the basis of internal security threat. There is no question of a referrundum on this. But we believe the sentiments of locals should be respected. Otherwise democracy will be under threat," he told reporters when asked about Bhushan's comments on the issue yesterday.

He said, "AAP does not support referendum on such issues."

Bhushan had said a referendum should be carried out in Kashmir to decide on deployment of the army to deal with internal security threats in the Valley.

He had also batted for lifting of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in J-K, saying it gave the army immunity in cases of human rights violation while causing alienation among the people.

"It is very important for us to win the hearts and minds of the people and prevent alienation. For that, the first thing which needs to be done is to remove AFSPA, which gives the army immunity in (cases of) human rights violations," Bhushan had told a TV channel.

The army's deployment for internal security purposes should be effected only with the consent of the people, except
in cases where the rights of minorities need to be protected, he had said.

In 2011, Bhushan had triggered a controversy by supporting the idea of holding a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir.

PTI