An open letter to Shri Kejriwalji

Shri Arvind Kejriwalji

This letter is occasioned by a comparison I saw of you and Rahul Gandhi with your respective qualifications followed by the thought-provoking caption "Who is the leader of young India?" It set off a chain of thought in my mind about the point-by-point comparison between your movement and the Congress. Both have a Gandhi at the helm. One is led by a new-age Gandhian who has galvanized the country by his sheer moral force while the other is an Italian import who is using the Gandhi surname to make a mockery of our country. Both the leaders are surrounded by close aides. One set of aides are internationally renowned soldiers of modern India having won Ramon Magasasay awards and true epitomes of new-India aspirations while the others are a set of yes-men who've risen to the top by sheer sycophancy. Both claim to be secular while one is truly secular the other is pseudo as evidenced by the innumerable times they've attempted to divide our country on religious and caste lines and even led a major pogrom against the sikh community. Yet the former today is sitting on the streets, hungry, disillusioned and fighting for basic rights (as the right to live righteously) while the latter is making the most of their remaining time in office by filling their coffers and swiss accounts. Doesn't the irony hit you as hard as it hits most of us?

I'm sure it does. And i'm sure you feel the same anguish as most of us do ruled by a government which is secure in the knowledge that their alternatives are so vastly inferior that come-what-may they're going to be voted back. The fact of the matter is even if your recommendations are accepted, the implementation will be shoddy and will render the lokpal useless. The funding will be under control of finance ministry. The congress will continue their dirty games till people just give up in frustation. Not if you decide to do something which many people have been urging you to. Enter politics yourself, not in individual capacity but as an organization. The incredible support you're getting where people are taking leaves from their jobs, leaving their work on their farms to support you is definitely transferable into votes. Here's a 5-point plan of action for the same

1. Agenda and name: The party should have a single point agenda of removing corruption. It is a much larger issue than eradicating the bribe taken by the RTO clerk for giving your license. It will improve each and every aspect of our lives from government schemes reaching the BPL families to improving our security apparatus as our political leaders will be prevented from being on the rolls of foreign intelligence agencies. As they say, money is the root of all evil. Remove corrupt money as the raison'd'etre of the political system and everything will change for the better. Let the name be JanLokpal party as the rallying call for millions of people who came out on the streets.
   
2. People: Select 500 people through a committee chaired by Anna,Ms Bedi and yourself. I refuse to believe that out of the millions of your supporters, you won't be able to find 500 worthy people to contest elections. Wherever possible, the candidates should be selected who know the local language of the constituency and belong there.
3. Funding: Don't be fooled by the gargantuan sums being spent by the political parties to win elections. They have to do that because liquor flows like water, cash is distributed like mandir prasad, people have to be paid even to attend the rallies of so-called leaders like Sonia Gandhi. They spend so much because the autos carry loudspeakers beseeching people to vote in their favor, they've to put up huge hoardings and distribute pamphlets. Your party does not have to do any of that because it will have the moral force of Anna backing you. Just go and tell the people that the party will remove corruption come what may and see how the people respond. One only needs a few lakhs to do the basic stuff and win in a constituency
   
4. Organization: Bring under your umbrella all the NGOs and civil society activists who have a lot of credibility associated with them. NGOs are unparalled in their reach and will take your message where the arrogant snots of the congress party will not dare to venture. Importantly bring Baba Ramdev on board and leverage his organization which is spread in every nook-and-corner of the country. Ramdev's primary problem was he did not have the benefit of master strategists like you and took a lot of decisions which were taken from the heart and went down wrong with the people.
   
5. Media: Well what can i say here. You are the darling of the media with some exceptions. Witness the coverage the media gives to some unconventional aspiring politicians like they gave to Meera Sanyal (one of India's top banking professionals). Rest assured you'll be hogging as much of the limelight as you're doing now and will not need any of the full-page advertisements by political parties which they recover once they come to power.

In conclusion, the people coming to the rally (myself included) are not coming for a single bill. They're disgusted with the current political system. But they see no way out of it. Come the next election, we'll be saddled with the devil's alternative between thief and robber. And most of us will stay indoors and give the familiar reason for not voting. You owe it on us and the nation to bring this movement to its logical end. Make no mistake, the politicos will only listen to their ilk. The congress will not dare to do to the BJP what they did to Ramdev and you. Win 60 seats in LS and see how the tables turn with the congress beseeching you for support. Even if Anna tours 100 constituencies, you're sure to win atleast 50. In fact the close aides will win from any constituency even from Amethi and Bellary. Mahatma Gandhi was powerful largely because he headed a political organization which could wreck the legislature from within. Your true place is in the law-making body of the nation and in our hearts and not as destitutes on streets and maidans