Arvind Kejriwal has graduated to be a 'mass' leader

From being toast of those who saw a middle-class hero, an aka Amol Palekar of middle-of-the-road Indian cinema, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has graduated to be a ‘mass’ leader, as in a church congregation. 

The Delhi Chief Minister attired in silk with his consort in attendance and bhajan singer Anoop Jalota singing Raag Darbari, completed the metamorphosis of a leader who came to power pleading to fight ostentation to become a symbol of flashiness.

For those who may not know, mass is the central act of worship of the Roman Catholic Church, which culminates in the celebration of the sacrament of the Eucharist.

On last Saturday, when Arvind Kejriwal led the city in the act of worship, he was closer in imagery to the Diwali celebrations in princely states than any act of sacrament of sacrifice. The Indian royal couples of the yore often saw themselves as an incarnation of Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi. 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal this Diwali night indulged in no less an act. The ‘Sarkari’ Diwali Puja was preceded by a media blitzkrieg and streamed live on the television and internet channels, to an extent stealing the thunder from under the nose of the soldier act of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who must be marvelling at Delhi leader’s expertise at event management.

One till now thought Prime Minister Modi was best at conceptualizing and executing events, but this Diwali, Arvind Kejriwal certainly bettered him.

One was wondering if the espousers of Arvind Kejriwal’s Indian Against Corruptionlike Prashant Bhushan and Yogender Yadav see a spirit and a ghost of theocracy in the Delhi Government function at Akshardham Temple.

Wanted to check, if their criticism of Hindu rituals performed by a state functionary is reserved for those from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) only.

It would be worth finding out if it were a personal function, a party function or a government function. One is asking these questions because of the presence of Delhi Assembly speaker Ram Niwas Goel. If it were a party function, he should not have been there. If it were a government function, as per laid down protocol, he should have led it. And if it were a private function, who is footing the bill for it?

In the city where several thousand have lost job, several thousand in government job have not been paid their salary, businesses have collapsed, rate of people dying of coronavirus is at an all-time high and people are being forced to breathe toxic air, we see ‘aap ki sarkar’ splurge hard-earned tax-payers’ money for showcasing the Chief Minister’s image as a ‘palanhar’ (a caretaker, as Lord Vishnu, is considered for the universe).

It was a bad Diwali for Delhi on many counts, which have been enumerated above. As some kind of a protest or frustration with the ruling regimes, and caring two hoots for the Supreme Court directive, people in the city burst crackers in plenty. The fallout was that the air quality started deteriorating leading to a heavy morning haze.

On the other hand, when Chief Minister Kejriwal and his Ministers and others were immersed in Diwali celebrations, Delhi recorded 3,235 new Covid-19 cases and 95 deaths, with a positivity rate of 15.33 per cent on a total 21,098 tests carried out during the past 24 hours.

Thankfully the Union Home Minister has again decided to intervene to check the third wave of the virus in the national Capital. Delhi definitely needs help, especially when its rulers are given to celebrations over their duty to govern.

Sidharth Mishra

Author and president, Centre for Reforms, Development & Justice