Whatever you may say about the Aam Aadmi Party, you cannot deny the fact that it is high on decibel and low on content. With a fortnight to go for polling, the people still do not know what the party stands for.
All that they are aware of is that it no longer represents the dreams and aspirations of the common man, especially the youth which is desperate to break away from the shackles of vote-bank politics and electoral rhetoric. When the AAP's leaders are asked what their ideology is, their stock response is that they are committed to fighting corruption and communalism. This is hardly a distinguishing mark, since all parties are publicly wedded to those values.
The AAP believes that by continuously ranting about communalism and corruption, it can deflect public attention from its lack of coherence on critical domestic issues. This is the reason why the party's leaders have been throwing muck at Narendra Modi and certain industrialists without providing a shred of evidence that backs their allegations. They hope that at least some of the dirt will stick. This is also the reason why the AAP has resorted to all kinds of populist displays such as street protests and mayhem. It fetches the party free media publicity.
Yet, none of this hides the deficit in the party's stand on matters such as the resolution of the Kashmir issue. The AAP does not have a clear position because it has no understanding of the complexities. Therefore, one fine day, its leader Prashant Bhushan states that a referendum should be conducted among the people of Kashmir valley on the continuation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. In other words, the lay citizen, who has no access to critical intelligence about the security situation in the region, must have the power to determine whether our armed personnel who operate in the valley and face threats to their life every minute of their working hour, should be shielded by the provisions of the Act.
But even this is apparently not the AAP's official position, since party chief Arvind Kejriwal later clarified that Bhushan was merely expressing his personal opinion. So, the AAP, which aspires to be a national party, is clueless about an issue of such grave national importance. When Bhushan's opinion sparked a major row, AAP leaders tried to douse the fire by assuring that they were giving final touches to the party’s stand on key national subjects, and Kashmir was one of them. This remains a work in progress, as the party’s position continues to be unstated and perhaps still to be sensibly formulated.
It's not just Kashmir. The AAP has no roadmap for the country's economic recovery — unless we assume that branding industrialists as thieves and crooks who have the media and many politicians allegedly eating out of their hands, will lead to a plan of action that will energise the corporate world and bring double-digit growth. We may criticise the roadmap that the BJP or the Congress or even the left Front has suggested, but at least there is an idea to deliberate upon. Kejriwal and his group are idealess. Do they believe in a controlled social economyIJ Do they favour regulated capitalismIJ Are they left-of-Centre or Right-of-Centre or plain confused CentreIJ The AAP has no answer.
There is another subject of deep domestic concern that the AAP remains ambivalent about: The threat to our democratic fabric which the Maoists pose. The party has in its ranks certain people who are known to have nurtured for long a soft corner for the Maoists. Does the AAP believe that the Maoists must be handled with kid-gloves or does it favour a strong carrot-and-stick policyIJ The people have yet to hear a clear statement from Kejriwal and his group. Perhaps the AAP can begin by explaining to the people what made the leadership give tickets to people who are accused of helping the killer MaoistsIJ Also, which AAP leader of prominence has condemned the Maoists for their recent attack on security personnel in Chhattisgarh that claimed more than a dozen livesIJ
There are other questions that Kejriwal and his band of leaders must answer. They can run away from them only at the cost of accepting that they do not have national aspirations and are looking to confine themselves to Delhi. That obviously does not seem to be the case; the party actually dreams of winning 100 lok Sabha seats. There is no law against day-dreaming, but even day-dreamers must have a vision. So, what is the AAP's position on the country's foreign policyIJ Should we enhance relations with the West or perhaps reach out more to the Islamic nationsIJ Must we demonstrate more aggression on issues that concern China and Pakistan, or continue to be softIJ Given that the AAP has managed to draw into its fold many academics and intellectuals of all sorts, an enunciation on these matters should not have been difficult for the party. Yet, as of now, we know more of AAP's street antics than its views on these issues.
Having realised that the Congress is on the decline and no purpose will be gained by flogging a dead horse, AAP leaders have begun concentrating on Modi. Kejriwal, like any other good old dyed-in-the-wool ‘secular' politician, has been meeting Muslim clerics to reiterate his secular credentials. He is not alone; other leaders from his party have doing the same. At one such recent meeting, Kejriwal even let go his ‘Main hoon aam aadmi’ (or whatever) cap and donned a skull cap. Remember how his people had created a commotion in the Delhi Assembly when they had insisted on wearing their trademark caps there. While it is fine to throw a tantrum when asked to conform to the dignity of the House, it is perfect to let go the common man’s cap for another when it serves an immediate parochial purpose!
The AAP's stand on corruption, which is the party's flagship issue, remains badly exposed. It had breathed fire against Sheila Dikshit, but when in power, it did not proceed against her. We are told that the AAP regime was on the ‘verge of acting' before it was forced to quit. Nobody compelled the AAP to resign; it deliberately created a situation for its departure so that it did not have to either govern or act against the allegedly corrupt Congress leaders.
There are more recent instances of the party's double-speak on the issue. While two faceless leaders have been sacked for supposedly demanding money in lieu of lok Sabha tickets for aspirants, the party's leadership has not acted against the more high-profile leaders on whom similar charges had been earlier levelled. We are told the party “inquired” into these accusations and found them “baseless”. How convenient.
It should be of great relief to the country that the AAP is unlikely to be anywhere near to assuming power at the Centre, or even influencing the course of events there.