Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Honest people should support Arvind Kejriwal' that was published in Newsband

Honest people should support Arvind Kejriwal

The Delhi High Court gave a verdict that the Capital is a Union Territory. So obviously any decision made by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal without the Lieutenant Governor’s approval will be rendered illegal. The verdict led to the appointment of 21 Delhi legislators as parliamentary secretaries being set aside.

Delhi cannot be a state and a Union territory at the same time. Many feel that given the strategic importance of the capital city which is the seat of Government of India it is best to be administered by the President through the LG and also that Delhi is quite vulnerable from security threat perception and policing will have to be with the home ministry only. In other words they say that Delhi cannot be on par with the other states.

There are people who feel that Arvind Kejriwal should concentrate on providing good governance instead of Modi bashing. But all that Kejriwal is doing is that he is accusing the Central government of interference. These people who speak against him can’t stand the idea of a single bureaucrat outwitting the elective government. Democracy Indian style this.

If, according to the court, the Lt. Governor of Delhi is Supreme, why there should be elected members and a Chief Minister. The current crisis is due to Centre's interference with even frivolous matters. Presently, the LG of Delhi is just a doll in the hands of the Central Govt. For each and every thing, the Centre is putting spanner, making the democratically elected Delhi Govt. a mere spectator. Unfortunately, the law & order situation at Delhi needs to be improved a lot. If Central Govt. (the Home Ministry) stops its unnecessary interference, the entire dispute could be solved. The BJP has yet not compromised to its defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections. So, it is trying its level best to derail the Aam Aadmi Party Govt.

From 1969 onwards, beyond even 1972 there was no Legislative Assembly for Delhi and only a 7 member Advisory Council of elected persons. So there is a section of the press who feel that since there was no problem with Governance of Delhi that time why a Legislative Assembly with elected legislators (without any powers) was created thus causing this muddle.

Indian Democracy is still in its fledgling stage, and many things such as those are happening in Delhi Govt vs Center are more "learning curves" in the young Democracy. There is definitely a great distance between the lip and the cup - here

Some people feel that Kejriwal should have continued as social activist since he is not fit for constitutional post. They accuse him of wanting to become PM of country and so, according to them, he is compromising Delhi's governance. These people should be told that an administrative lapse is not a lapse of moral righteousness. This is the first time in India, a party for, of and by the people has come to power trying to do good for the masses threatening the stranglehold of the swindling traditional parties. It is the responsibility of all the honest people to support such a party.