Thursday, October 18, 2012

Grrrroan….one more bizarre expose….time media starts to ignore Kejriwal



Yet another “expose”. Yet another bizarre and brazen attempt at being accuser, investigator, prosecuter and judge all rolled into one. Watching Kejriwal, the Joker in the political pack (henceforth abbreviated to just Joker) “perform” yesterday, I wondered if we even needed any of the institutions of governance the Constitution provides for. I also wondered if the Lokpal that Joker proposed was just something that he created keeping himself in mind. And when he went about brandishing “Jokepal”, was he referring to himself?

There are new rules of the game now. “Connecting the dots” appears to be the only way judgments are being pronounced these days. Being a politician’s relative is a crime. Politicians are guilty until they can prove themselves to be innocent. The rules that apply to politicians don’t apply to activists. Politicians cannot have a sense of humor; only activists can. All this is part of the Joker’s “vision”. And he wants us to vote for the party.

Not me for sure. Joker is out to wreck this country. Until now, it was only the TV channels that stood accused of populist sensationalism. Now we have an upstart political party doing the same. Till date, I haven’t heard ONE positive statement of intent from Joker. Whatever little I have heard about economic policies put Joker even Left of Mamata Banerjee, who herself is further Left of the Left parties. So we are talking about a party that is as Left as the Maoists perhaps. In fact, someone on TV last night mentioned the words “Urban Maoists” to describe Joker and his party. Another panelist called his core economic philosophy to be “anti-business”. Thanks, but I am happy without this bull in a China shop. I am happy if this “munna” could also be “muted” like poor Ranbir was in “Barfi”.

How long will media tolerate this attack on the way we do politics in this country? Agreed, the existing system is rotten. Agreed, there is rampant corruption. But is it anyone’s point that by changing the current lot of politicians and substituting them with these activists, we will lick the problem? Can Joker achieve anything without proposing specific changes to the electoral funding system? Have we heard anything about that at all? Are we supposed to assume that genetically, Joker and his followers are superior to the “mongrels” who occupy positions of power today? That somehow, miraculously, they will survive the temptations of power? And even if they do so, how will they manage the political requirement of raising funds without accepting monies from people who seek illicit returns? For the ultimate need for politicians to take bribes is to fund their elections.

Coming specifically to the charges levied yesterday by Joker….the charges against Gadkari are far more serious than the charges against Vadra for at least two reasons. First, Vadra and DLF are both outside the ambit of the Prevention of Corruption Act as they are both not public figures. If they have violated any rules of the country, the appropriate authorities will investigate them. Gadkari, on the other hand is the President of the BJP and a very important public figure. He can be investigated under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Secondly,  the only accusation against the Haryana government is that it speeded up the mutation process (big deal) and that it allowed change in land usage (done almost with every land deal). It’s not as if Government land was given away to a politician. In Gadkari’s case, that’s the main charge. Apparently, he has usurped 100 acres of village land which the state had acquired.

But honestly, I don’t care much for these charges against Gadkari either. These are just charges. And Joker is just another politician. Two politicians accuse each other of corruption all the time. If there is any substance in Joker’s charges, then let him file cases against Gadkari. Let courts decide if there is any merit at all. And if that happens, I will salute Joker…..till then he continues to get my scorn.

And what’s this about Joker being so thin skinned that he runs to the media at every jab that is taken at him. What happened to his sense of humor? If Salman said that Joker has to come back from Farukhabad, what’s the big deal. There are many times when people say to each other “I’ll see you” or even “I’ll get you man”. That’s not a threat to kill. And anyone who saw the video clip would have realized it was a statement made to supporters to pep them up. If Joker has to take offence to every such statement, then he’d better quit politics.

The real truth is that its time we pull the plug on Joker. He can join any Hindi GEC (Star, Sony types) and produce some good entertaining shows. But to give him any more credence that that is a waste of time. He’s best ignored….

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