After Rajendra Kumar’s Arrest, AAP’s Open Letter To Modi

To

Mr Narendra Modi
The Prime Minister of India

Sir:

I am writing this letter to you with deep disappointment, disgust and disillusionment. I know fully well that this letter is addressed to the Prime Minister of India and not to an ordinary swayam sewak of the RSS, which you take great pride in being. I am also aware that this letter is written by me who till about two years ago was the editor of a news channel, but is now a full-time political activist and spokesman of the Aam Aadmi Party. Neither as a journalist nor as a political activist have I ever claimed to know you too well – as is the habit with both breeds. But yes, I do know you a bit.

As an anchor and as a reporter, I met you several times, hosted many discussions and debates with you in TV studios. I remember when my dear friend Ranjan Jha and cameramen Gopal Bisht were killed in a plane crash in Uttar Pradesh in 2001, you had come to the cremation ground to pay your last respects. I was pleasantly surprised then. I want to remind you that it was on this day that you were formally asked to go to Gujarat and be the Chief Minister. The next time we met was when you came to the Aaj Tak studio to record Seedhi Baat with Prabhu Chawla. It was just after the riots in Gujarat. After that, I never met you. But I did request you for an interview twice and both times, your office suggested that questions about riots were not to be asked, so I very politely said no to that offer.

By 2014, when I decided to contest parliamentary elections from Delhi, you were the darling of the masses and later became Prime Minister. AAP lost all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and people wrote AAP’s obituary. But there was something else in store for AAP. The 2015 Delhi elections re-wrote history. AAP won 67 out of 70 seats. Your party was reduced to 3 seats from 32. This was the first and the worst defeat of your life since you became Chief Minister. We in the AAP were happy and were of the opinion that the bitterness of the elections was over and with such a massive majority, AAP would be entitled to and receive full cooperation from your government especially since you had been advocating cooperative federalism.

Let me share with you, sir, how wrong we were. We did not know that the road ahead would be so difficult. Not because of us, but because of you. Today, I have lost all hope from you; I am convinced that your idea of cooperative federalism was a big hoax. In the last 16 months, you have unleashed all kinds of forces and agencies to discredit, malign and destabilise the AAP government. Yesterday, Rajendra Kumar, the Principal Secretary of the Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal, was arrested. He has been charged with corruption. Can I remind you what the CBI special court has said about CBI officials in this case?

In April, the court sent a reference to the Delhi High Court to initiate contempt proceeding against the investigation officer in the Rajendra Kumar case. The court said, “CBI being the premier investigating agency is expected to follow the mandate of law.” The Court said that CBI was “conspicuously ambiguous”. Can any court be more scathing than this? Does it not prove that charges against Rajendra Kumar are malicious? The CBI could not produce any evidence to convince the court to prove the culpability of the officer. Modiji, you know what happened afterwards – the concerned judge was mysteriously transferred, and now the same CBI which was pulled up in this case has arrested him. Let me tell you very frankly that AAP has been created to fight corruption. It will not compromise on the issue of corruption – and if there is an iota of evidence against any of us, please put us in jail and give us the severest of punishment, but for God’s sake, don’t create fictional cases just because AAP defeated you in Delhi.

Modiji, can you please tell me why this sudden carpet bombing of us with fake cases? Last week, our MLA Dinesh Mohaniya was arrested because a woman filed a complaint against him. When I read the FIR, the charges were vague, but suddenly she was produced before the magistrate and he was charged with non-bailable offence? Since the Delhi Police reports to your government, can you please tell me why? Two days later, another MLA, Naresh Yadav, was booked for conspiring to desecrate the Holy book of Quran. The Punjab Police which had arrested three persons in this case belonging to the RSS said that they tore the pages as they “wanted to seek revenge for the Pathankot terror attack and harboured deep hatred towards Muslim.” Suddenly this theory changed and Punjab police is singing a different tune. Modiji, you have more experience in politics than me – can you please tell me the reason behind this change of heart of the Punjab Police?

This is the same police which does not take any action against BJP legislator OP Sharma who was caught on camera beating up a CPI activist when Kanhaiya Kumar was being taken to court. No action was a taken against lawyers who swore by BJP ideology and indulged in violence not once but twice within the court premises in the presence of the police. But AAP MLA from Vikas Puri Mahendra Yadav was arrested as he was fighting to get justice for a three-month-old who had been raped. Commando Surendra was arrested because he tried to save a boy from being beaten up by corrupt MCD officials. Modiji, you should have been proud of Surendra. He is a braveheart who fought terrorists in Mumbai on 26/11. The list is endless.

Modiji, when we won the Delhi election, we had a dream – to make Delhi a world-class city. We wanted to make Delhi corruption-free. But instead of acting against Sheila Dikshit, Mukesh Ambani, and others, you snatched the Anti Corruption Bureau from the Delhi government a year ago.

Modiji, despite all your non-cooperation and coercive actions, the AAP government is being appreciated by the citizens of Delhi. Prestigious newspapers like the Washington Post are writing that the USA should learn from the AAP government in Delhi in the field of health services. Major reforms have been initiated in government schools of the capital. The people of Delhi are enjoying almost no bills for water and paying half the amount for power. With your support, we could have made Delhi world-class. But you have  made our life difficult. You don’t let the duly-elected government appoint one officer of its choice. You don’t let a single bill passed by the Delhi Assembly to become law. All the 19 bills passed by the assembly are returned by your government after a year without any signature. Every order passed by the Delhi government is declared null and void by the Lieutenant Governor who reports directly to you and declares himself as the government!

Pardon me for saying so, but you are scared of AAP and Arvind Kejriwal. Because you know the people of India believe him more than you. It is this belief that will ensure the people of Punjab hand over the state to AAP. The people of Goa are also singing the same tune. Gujarat is in the same mood. I know you are very sharp. You know that the emergence of AAP as a party and Arvind as a leader will jeopardise your chances in 2019.

But let me also tell you that AAP is made of different mettle. Your dirty tricks can’t scare us. You can send us all to jail, but that will not weaken our resolve to change the system. It is this system which has to be changed which you are personifying now. We know it’s tough but we will win in the end despite all your efforts.

In the end, I still pray for your good luck and good health.

Many regards and thanks

Ashutosh

(Spokesperson AAP and once-upon-a-time-journalist)

Ashutosh joined the Aam Aadmi Party in January 2014.

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