What I Like and Hate About Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and India Against Corruption (IAC)!

Arvind Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal

With Arvind Kejriwal coming out with the name ‘Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’ for the political fraction formed after the difference in ideologies in India Against Corruption(IAC) movement, Indian political scenario became more active. It is not only the hijacking of the Congress slogan ” Aam Aadmi” by Kejriwal and his team as the name of his party which makes things interesting, but also the guts and growth of Arvind Kejriwal who symbolizes the common man.

What I like about Arvind Kejriwal and his initiative Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)?

  1. Social Initiative which is the need of the hour : Every social movement with true intentions to make the society better deserves appreciation from heart. The vision for a corruption free India, the guts for challenging the defects in established systems, leadership qualities in organizing the mass movement, fasting(satyagraha) and non-violence means of protest makes every common man, including me a follower of AAP and IAC.
  2. Arvind Kejriwal, the masterbrain : The soft-spoken Ex- IRS, IIT grad, Kejriwal is not a man of Utopian ideas, he is cerebral and has knowledge of the system.
  3. No vote bank politics: AAP does not represent any religious, caste or regional fractions, and Arvind Kejriwal has said that his party won’t engage in vote bank or sectoral politics.
  4. Non compromise nature : On Jan Lokpal, particularly on the need for an independent CBI he is not ready to compromise.
  5. For showing Guts!!! : And the foremost reason why I like AAP is this – for showing guts to fight against the two big parties in the country which according to Kejriwal, got money as well as muscle power. Allegations of corruption against the top names in the country had produced repercussions of multiple dimensions. IAC has emerged as the principle opposition to the government sidelining the BJP allies.


What I don’t like about  Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)  and India Against Corruption(IAC)?

  1. Coercion : Though the means of protests are non-violent, IAC had often turned out as coercive by over using Satyagraha.
  2. Lack of economic vision. Apart from the corruption thread, AAP has not put forward any other idea to  bring a change to the country. The party’s constitution and vision document looks childish. Removal of red beacons from minister’s car can neither bring growth to India nor can it alleviate poverty. The lacking of practical or novel ideas to bring growth and development in India is a serious omission in the new party’s vision document.
  3. Association of elements like Baba Ramdev : Baba Ramdev came up with strange demands like death sentence for the corrupt and promotion of Hindi at the expense of English, but tried to escape in ladies attire during police arrest at night, causing damage to the public image of IAC.
  4. Favoritism towards BJP: The inclination towards BJP is evident in many ways including Kejriwal’s revelation about reason for split with Kiran Bedi. As per Kejriwal, K.Bedi wanted a coalition of IAC with BJP for opposing Congress, while Kejriwal considers all parties as equally corrupt.
  5. Not inclusive: Party being only for “Aam Aadmi”: Aam aadmi denotes common man or average man. It is true that AAP is not favoring any religious, regional or caste fractions, but the Aam Aadmi label doesn’t not sound as inclusiveness.
  6. Lack of presence in South India : The label Aam Aadmi is not exclusive for people in an around Delhi, but IAC and AAP has not reached grass root levels in South Indian states yet. It is still a Delhi based movement.
  7. Many anti-social elements are untouched by AAP : There are many other areas in India which deserves attention including presence of extremist religious and political leaders, diminishing freedom of speech and expression, Maoist insurgency etc. Kejriwal seems too focused on corruption and Jan Lokpal as the complete solution to all problems of India.

A final word cannot be made about AAP or IAC at this particular stage as the raw movement is in the nascent stages, and cannot predict the shape or allies this movement makes in future. What ever be the case, let us hope AAP will not turn out as just another party in the form of  old wine in new bottle.