Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, once a prominent anti-corruption crusader, is now in custody of the Enforcement Directorate as an accused in the money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. Some of his close associates have fallen in the net. The denial of any relief by the courts has added to the public perception that there is ‘something’ sinister. Questions are being raised about Kejriwal’s commitment to fight corruption. Over the years, charges of wrongdoings in many of his welfare schemes have also surfaced from time to time. However, the biggest scam has been the excise policy case.
‘Broom’ is the election symbol of Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). According to the party, the symbol signifies “dignity of labour” and commitment to “clean the filth which has permeated the government and legislature”. But today, many of the AAP leaders and its supremo have been arrested on charges of doing the exact opposite. His supporters and the Opposition leaders are crying foul. But his guru, Anna Hazare in 2022, wrote a letter to Kejriwal saying that he was “intoxicated by power.” Hazare knew that his protégé was taking a wrong turn.
A massive mandate in Delhi Assembly, not once but twice — 2015 (with 67 seats) and 2020 (with 62 seats) — can be any politician’s dream. Absoluteness has its own hazards and it did create a perfect condition for Kejriwal to be the be-all end-all in his party. Kejriwal has no one except perhaps himself to blame for the situation that he is in today. The bid to roll-out an ultra-fast political flight to the nation’s top political post has perhaps crash-landed him badly. Soon after his Delhi win, Kejriwal wanted to quickly encroach the political space in other states.
His plans to rise to the national scene instantly became clear when in 2014, he unsuccessfully fought against the then PM candidate Narendra Modi in Varanasi. Kejriwal also put in all his efforts in Gujarat and Goa Assembly elections, but in both places, he had to eat humble pie. Punjab, however, gave him another big win. In his 13-year political career, which began with the massive cause of delivering transparent, honest and corruption-free governance, Kejriwal has hobnobbed with all those whom he called corrupt and adopted policies that gave impetus to corruption.
Kejriwal joined hands with those whom he had earlier promised to send behind bars. His associations with those whom he had red-flagged earlier has earned him the title of being ‘politically dishonest’. On March 21, late at night, when Kejriwal was arrested, his journey from an anti-graft crusader to an alleged ‘kingpin’ of liquor scam and CM behind bars was unprecedented. The law will take its own course, but the people who believed that the ‘Broom’ will do the cleaning in the system must be feeling betrayed today.
