Fiction-writer Arundhati Roy had made countless blunders in her life to the extent that at one point she had confused Karsewaks burnt in Godhara in 2002 to the Karsewaks who demolished the disputed structure in 1992. Roy has been anti-BJP and anti-Modi all her life, and it is hard to believe that she can talk about something without an agenda or without goofing up. However, once upon a time in 2011, she perhaps made sense for the first and possibly the last time.
During an interview with Sagrika Ghose on CNN IBN, Roy raised several doubts about Kejriwal’s anti-corruption movement. Showing her pleasure in the fact that Lokpal Bill did not make its way to become a law, Roy claimed that the Bill was a clear case of drawing a parallel government that will have power over the ruling government in India. Roy talked in detail about the role of Kejriwal and how he had allegedly received funds from international organizations like Ford Foundation.
The movement of elite
One of the significant concerns Roy had at that time was that it was not the moment of the poor or suppressed. It was, in fact, build and promoted by the elite class protesting against the government. Manish Sisodia and Medha Patkar, who are Roy’s associate, were part of the movement, but according to Roy, their presence made no difference. Arundhati said that though Anna Hazare was in the limelight and the whole movement was allegedly his brainchild, in reality, it was the elite class including Arvind Kejriwal and Sisodia who were running the show.
Role of World Bank, Ford Foundation and association with Kejriwal
During the interview, Sagrika asked Roy about one of her articles that she wrote for The Hindu in which she alleged that NGOs of Kejriwal and Sisodia had received over $400,000 from Ford Foundation in three years of time. Roy claimed that the group of ten people who were the top ‘management’ of the movement had well-funded NGOs. She said that three core members of the team had won Magsaysay Award which is also funded by Ford Foundation.
It may be noted that the same Magsaysay award, which is celebrated by left-liberals, also has a direct link with the CIA and the United States America, the two entities that the left-liberals hate the most. The details of the award were explored in our 2019 report.
The list of donors included Coca-Cola and the Lehman Brothers. She said, “Kabir, run by Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, key figures in Team Anna, has received $400,000 from the Ford Foundation in the last three years. Among contributors to India Against Corruption campaign there are Indian companies and foundations that own aluminum plants, build ports and SEZs, and run Real Estate businesses and are closely connected to politicians who run financial empires that run into thousands of crores of rupees.” Roy said she was unable to understand why these corporate were so enthusiastic about the said movement.
The misplaced agendas and decade of propagandas
Since the India Against Corruption movement sort of ended with the downfall of the Lokpal Bill a decade ago, India has seen a lot of changes. Some misplaced agendas came to light in the period, including Kejriwal’s dream of becoming a politician. Using the movement for his own good, Kejriwal not only formed Aam Aadmi Party but also won assembly elections in Delhi three times.
However, the moment NDA took over the power at the centre Kejriwal’s anti-BJP and anti-RSS side became more evident. He has called PM Modi names and tried his level best to go against the central government on several occasions. Instead of taking care of Delhi, he even contested Lok Sabha elections against PM Modi only to get defeated by a huge margin of over 3.3 lakh votes.
In recent times, his party members were found involved in anti-Hindu Delhi Riots and even provided support to protesting farmers outside Delhi where his government did not have the jurisdiction. Interestingly, he also came in support of Disha Ravi and other activists who are allegedly linked to Khalistani outfit Poetic Justice Foundation. The same Disha Ravi was also supported by Khalistani terrorist organization Sikhs For Justice.