Arvind Kejriwal’s performance during the past year has been a mixed one. With some successes have come immature confrontations
last February, the three-year-old Aam Aadmi Party with almost no experience came to power with an overwhelming majority. A year later, its report card shows that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has not been able to meet the huge expectations he had raised. He himself has said that it would not be bad if his Government fulfills about half the campaign promises in five years.
The year has witnessed Mr Kejriwal surrounded by controversies, bickering and infighting in the party, personal health problems, and a daily public spat with lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and the Centre. This is unfortunate, given that his massive mandate was for governance and not for drama and confrontation.
Mr Kejriwal began the year by stopping the Modi juggernaut.While there has been highs and lows, the new year began with kudos for his novel experiment of odd-even dates for four-wheelers to check pollution. The middle class, which was losing faith in his performance, has given him support in spite of widespread scepticism. Mr Kejriwal has protected his vote bank in the poorer classes by announcing time-bound regularisation of unauthorised colonies promising permanent housing facility to slum-dwellers.
As for the electoral promises, the AAP Government has delivered its big ticket election promises like providing cheaper power and water to Delhiites. Since March last, every household gets 20,000 litres of water free every month; families who use less than 400 units of power per month gets a 50 per cent discount on their bills while the others pay full rate for electricity. This would cost the Government about Rs1,400 crore and the water subsidy about Rs250 crore.
The Delhi Assembly has also passed a watered down Jan lokpal Bill on December 3. After his 49-day stint in his earlier term in 2012-13, Mr Kejriwal had resigned as Chief Minister on this issue. He has also re-launched the anti-corruption helpline 1031.
To clean up the education system, the Chief Minister has scrapped the management quota in nursery admissions in private schools. The AAP Government has also passed a bunch of Bills to bring major reforms in education system of Delhi, including the Delhi School Education (Amendment) Bill, 2015, and The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Delhi Amendment) Bill. On the health side, he was caught unawares when the menace of dengue hit Delhi.
However, the year was full of controversies dogging him and his party. Mr Kejriwal is yet to move to governance mode as he has been concentrating on street politics. As Chief Minister, he no longer has this luxury. He has been fighting with lt Governor Jung on appointments and transfers, bringing friction in Centre-State ties.
The second and more direct confrontation with the Centre is about the police. As part of his agenda, Mr Kejriwal wants the police and land powers, which are now under the Centre. He uses every opportunity to press for these demands. He has reiterated his demand for full authority over the police department.
Third, when he went after the media, the Supreme Court had to come to the rescue and stay the May 6 circular of the Delhi Government which would have initiated defamation proceedings against the media for publishing news that damaged the reputation of the Chief Minister and his Government.
Fourth, his attack on the bureaucracy started with the appointment of Power Secretary Shakuntala Chamlin as the Acting Chief Secretary. This turned into a full-scale war between the lt Governor and him and demoralised the officials .
Fifth, when the Centre retaliated by raiding his Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar, the Chief Minister claimed the real reason for the raid was certain DDCA files. He took on Union Minister for Finance Arun Jaitley, accusing him of presiding over financial irregularities in the DDCA, and ordered a probe. Mr Jaitley has slapped a Rs10 crore defamation case against him.
Mr Kejriwal’s performance is a half full-half empty situation. But he has moved on, with his ambitious plans of concentrating on the 2017 Punjab Assembly poll and networking with Opposition leaders. His sights are set on 7RCR road.