New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has a new voice these days. And it is not that of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, but of his deputy, Manish Sisodia. With Kejriwal increasingly maintaining a low profile, his education minister has taken on the task of voicing the Delhi government’s grievances and spearheading the battle against the Centre.
He has been particularly active over the last one week. From calling the Lt Governor a dictator and accusing him of running a parallel government to writing a three-page letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the removal of Delhi government’s advisors, he has taken over from his mentor the job of attacking the Centre.
Sisodia even addressed a press conference, otherwise the forte of Kejriwal, launching a broadside against the Modi government. But party leaders stressed that the two were working in tandem.
A party leader held that the emergence of Sisodia as the voice of AAP was a well-planned strategy. After AAP’s lackluster performance in Punjab and Goa, many in the party believed that Kejriwal’s rabble rousing had boomeranged.
Soon, the attacks on Modi by Kejriwal were not as aggressive as they used to be. When a conscious decision was taken that Kejriwal would tone down his attacks, someone had to perform that role. And there was no one better than Manish to do so, said a senior party leader, requesting anonymity.
The Kejriwal-Sisodia association dates back to a time when both were activists—well before they started working on the Right to Information. Bureaucrat Kejriwal and journalist Sisodia started the Public Cause Research Foundation for transparent and participatory governance, especially in the slums of Delhi.
The two were together as activists and also when they took their first steps in politics. The bond was so strong that Kejriwal made him his deputy after AAP rode to power for the second time in Delhi in 2015.
Such is the level of closeness between the two leaders that when they have to take a difficult decision and are not in a position to exchange words, they just look at each other and a message is conveyed,” a senior AAP leader said. There is another reason for Sisodia’s rise.
The AAP government has been focusing on reforming the education and health sectors and Sisodia is at the forefront of both — as the education minister he has been seeking to improve government schools and as the finance minister he has been pouring funds into AAP’s mohalla clinics. Kejriwal’s right-hand man is also seen as a loyalist.
Kejriwal is not threatened by him, nor does he have issues with Sisodia, said another AAP leader. He cited the case of Kumar Vishwas who many thought was trying to upstage Kejriwal in the party and government and was subsequently eased out.
While AAP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh denied that there was any such strategy at work, political analyst Sanjay Kumar agreed that Kejriwal’s voice was muted, whereas Sisodia was more strident than ever. But there is a difference between what the prime minister says and his ministers say. The prime minister’s words will always carry greater weight. Similarly, what Sisodia says will not have as much of an impact as what Kejirwal says, Kumar added.
Sitting at an office in Delhi’s posh New Friends Colony, VK Jain is nowadays busy reading about the Constitution of India. Jain, the former adviser to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, resigned from the post days after he was questioned as one of the eyewitnesses of Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash’s alleged assault. He has recently enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the government set up, Jain is now devoting the entire time to his family. Calling himself as a ‘non- controversial’ person, he feels that by joining the judiciary system, he has got his chance to do social work.
Q: It is been almost one month since you resigned from the Delhi government. What made you switch to the legal profession?
After the incident happened, I felt that it was an opportunity for me to leave the government set up. Before joining as an IAS officer, I was also selected as a judge in 1984 in the Uttar Pradesh Judiciary. But my father always wanted me to join the bureaucracy. But now, when I have left the bureaucratic setup, I feel that this job is best suited for me.
Q: You have worked so closely with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal the AAP government led by him. What are the things that you admire about this government? And what is the one thing you want them to improve?
The intentions of the AAP government are extremely positive. I admire their contribution in the field of education and health. The condition of the schools and hospitals has improved with their efforts and active participation. As I am now out of the system, I don’t feel like commenting on their weak points. But somehow, I feel that they need to work on the team spirit. A head of the family should behave like a head. He should avoid the minute issues and focus on the larger perspectives i.e the prosperity of Delhi and its people.
Q: The IAS officers in Delhi are still not communicating with the AAP ministers and are observing five minutes of silence every day as a mark of their protest against the government. What, according to you, is the problem in Delhi?
There is a mismatch of expectations which is hampering the work in Delhi. The issue is now in the court and the judiciary will take its own decision.
Q: You have been a part of Delhi administrative set up for way too long. You have worked in various departments like DUSIB, DDA, and Indraprastha (IP) University, etc. Which profile excited you the most and why?
Though, I have enjoyed working in all the departments but my tenure with the IP University was a memorable one. I worked in the varsity from 2004-2006 as a registrar. It was the time when the university was gaining popularity. In 2004, there were only 50,000 registrations for the admissions. The number jumped to 1, 63,000 in 2006. We ensured that the university standards are well-maintained.
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday he ‘disagreed’ with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reported remarks at Central Hall Westminster in London last week about alleged nexus between doctors and pharmaceutical companies. Earlier today, the Indian Medical Association too expressed its disappointment over the PM’ remarks. In a letter to the PM, IMA secretary-general Dr RN Tandon said India’s health system would collapse without Indian doctors. The letter further said successive governments are responsible for the mess in the health sector.
The IMA alleged in the letter that the doctors in India are being “suppressed and exploited…The health system of the country would collapse without Indian doctors.” However, when the Delhi CM spoke about his disagreement with Modi, Twitterati did not spare him. “I disagree wid Hon’ble PM. Our docs have made India proud. The same docs have made revolutionary transformation in health sector in Del in last 3 yrs wid Del govt. Given proper working environment wid no political interference, our docs can transform health sector nationally,” tweeted Kejriwal.
Notably, the PM, during ‘Bharat ki Baat Sabke Saath’ programme in London, spoke about Jan Aushadhi Kendras. These are the stores started by the government where generic medicines can be bought. The non-branded medicines at Jan Aushadhi Kendras are sold at much cheaper prices than other medical stores.
CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today termed AAP Convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s visit to Chandigarh as a sinister media stunt staged with the sole purpose of befooling the people of Delhi, Punjab as well as the country. It said the visit itself was a flop show as it did not yield anything.
Addressing a press conference here, former finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa said Kejriwal was in the habit of inventing a make belief solution to the problems being faced by the people of Delhi. “Last year he came up with the odd-even scheme and spent crores of rupees on a media blitz to take political mileage of the same. This year he has come up with the idea of meeting the chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab with the sole purpose of flogging these meetings as an achievement”.
The Akali leader said the result of the meeting with Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar was there for all to see. “All Kejriwal could say after the meeting with his Haryana counterpart was that concern had been expressed about health issues due to stubble burning. Kejriwal could have expressed this sentiment on the phone but chose to indulge in cheap publicity on this sensitive issue even though he knew that the talks with his Haryana counterpart would not have any outcome”.
Mr Dhindsa said it was a fact that stubble burning alone was not responsible for the smog in Delhi. “If that was so Chandigarh would have been the worst sufferer. The truth is that Kejriwal has failed to check vehicular pollution and is now trying to blame the farmers of Punjab and Haryana for his own failures. If he is really serious about this issue he should provide financial assistance to Punjab and Haryana to tackle stubble burning. Agriculture equipment and even establishment of bio mass plants can provide a lasting solution to utilize paddy straw”, he added.
Asking Kejriwal to desist from deceit, Mr Parminder Dhindsa said the Delhi CM should first tell the people what he had done to reduce the effect of smog in Delhi. “Forget doing anything on this account, you have even refused to take a stand on this sensitive issue. While you are holding the Haryana and Punjab governments responsible for the smog in Delhi by accusing them of failing to check stubble burning, your Punjab legislature party leader is encouraging the same. Please clarify your stand on this issue immediately”, the Akali leader added.
Stating that this as well as other instances were indicative of the double speak of AAP on every sensitive issue concerning Punjab, the former FM said recently the party’s Punjab unit had held a symbolic photo op to protest passage of water from Punjab to Rajasthan even as Kejriwal was demanding that Punjab’s waters be given to Delhi through the SYL canal. “Whom are you trying to fool? Why do you always adopt double standards on every issue concerning Punjab? You recently even did the same on the issue of drugs by choosing to remain silent when your legislature party leader Sukhpal Khaira was summoned as an accused in an international drug racket in which his co-accused had already been awarded a 20 year jail sentence”.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday called the Election Commission “biased” and alleged that it was conspiring with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to destabilize the AAP government in Delhi.
Addressing the media here, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj referred to remarks by the poll panel’s former legal advisor, S.K. Mendiratta, that his opinion was not taken before the Election Commission disqualified 20 AAP MLAs for holding “office of profit”.
“Now it’s established that the EC is biased,” Bharadwaj said. “If advice was not taken from him (Mendiratta), it means that advice was coming from the Prime Minister’s office.”
The AAP leader said the former Election Commission chief during whose tenure the decision to disqualify the AAP MLAs was taken was an IAS officer who was close to Modi when the latter was the Gujarat Chief Minister.
“Country’s EC with Prime Minister is conspiring to destabilize the elected government in Delhi,” Bharadwaj said, adding this was a “very dangerous sign”.
New Delhi: Dissident Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha, who has floated an apolitical front to attack the central government, will hold an event with Opposition parties in Patna on 21 April to make a “political announcement”.
He declined to share details of the impending exercise, saying he will disclose it on Saturday.
“It will be a political announcement,” said the former Union minister, who has turned a trenchant critic of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, but has not quit the BJP yet.
Sources said he may formally join forces with Opposition parties as they work to put up a united front against the BJP.
Leaders from the Congress, Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi, RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, RLD leader Jayant Choudhary, Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh and disgruntled JD(U) leader Uday Narayan Choudhary would attend the programme, Samajwadi Party spokesman Ghanshyam Tiwari told reporters in Patna.
Tiwari’s party would also attend the exercise, while former MP Sharad Yadav has also been invited.
Sinha had formed ‘Rashtra Manch’ on 30 January, saying that it will be an apolitical forum to highlight the “anti-people” policies of the Centre. Leaders from the Congress and other Opposition parties had joined the event.
The AAP government on Thursday launched a fresh attack on Lt Governor Anil Baijal after he held a meeting on the status of CCTV camera installation in Delhi, dubbing his actions “illegal” and said he should follow the Constitution and not be a “dictator”.”LG shud respect and follow the constitution (sic),” Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted while his deputy Manish Sisodia said the Lieutenant Governor should not attempt to run a parallel government as he does not have any power to call a meeting on issues which are under the government’s domain.Their reaction came hours after the Lt Governor held a meeting on law and order where the current status of CCTV cameras installation, a pre-poll promise of AAP, was taken up.
In a tweet, Mr Baijal said he had directed authorities concerned to have an inter-agency group to formulate Standing Operating Procedure (SOP) for uniformity in installation.”Chaired law & order meeting on current status of CCTV cameras in Delhi, including their O&M issues.
Directed to have an inter-agency group to formulate a SOP to have uniformity in installation & address issues of privacy, security, feed-sharing, integration & optimum utilisation (sic),” the Lt Governor said on Twitter.The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik and senior officers.But the Lt Governor’s move did not go down well with the Kejriwal government.”LG sir, pl don’t be a dictator.
This is attempt to run parallel govt in Delhi.
NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday called the Election Commission “biased” and alleged that it was conspiring with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to destabilize the AAP government in Delhi.
Addressing the media here, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj referred to remarks by the poll panel’s former legal advisor, S.K. Mendiratta, that his opinion was not taken before the Election Commission disqualified 20 AAP MLAs for holding “office of profit”.
“Now it’s established that the EC is biased,” Bharadwaj said. “If advice was not taken from him (Mendiratta), it means that advice was coming from the Prime Minister’s office.”
The AAP leader said the former Election Commission chief, during whose tenure the decision to disqualify the AAP MLAs was taken, was an IAS officer who was close to Modi when the latter was the Gujarat Chief Minister.
“Country’s EC with Prime Minister is conspiring to destabilize the elected government in Delhi,” Bharadwaj said, adding this was a “very dangerous sign”.
