Aam Aadmi’s Khaas aspirations may boomerang

Not many years ago, a ‘giant killer’ of its kind in information technology (IT), the infamous B. Ramalinga Raju—the founder of Satyam Computers (now Tech Mahindra)—in his last communiqué to then Board members had said, “It was like riding a tiger not knowing how to get off without being eaten.” It was as a confession of his ambitious virtues that marked the fall of one of the biggest IT giants unearthing one of the gravest corporate frauds in the country.
Raju was riding the IT wave high and became the pioneer of outsourcing but had to step down after admitting to faking financial figures of the company to the tune of Rs7,136 crore of non-existent cash and bank balance.
The recent rise of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal at times reminds of a similar stellar rise—he is riding a wave of aspirations of millions of Indians with his way of politics suddenly becoming a ‘route’ to bring change. The urge is monumental. However, how far this would last is another question.
AAP’s big promises during the Delhi elections are being pushed through quickly keeping in mind the due date of the general elections. Populist measures like the water subsidy will impact the exchequer, which will finally hit the taxpayer’s belly. Is this not the same method used by the other political parties in power? Besides, his alliance with the Congress was akin to what other political parties do to the electorate after winning elections.

Kejriwal’s idea of governance is appealing and his style dynamic. His rise as a politician is spectacular. But his over-ambitious moves reminds of Raju’s fatal tiger ride without being aware of being gobbled up—though one thing is for sure that Delhi’s Khaas AAdmi has rewritten the rules of the game.