The second coming of Arvind Kejriwal

It was Dec of 2013 when a relatively unknown politician by name Arvind Kejriwal, emerged with a bang on India’s political firmament when he defeated long-time Congress veteran Sheila Dixit at the polls and went on to become the Chief Minister of Delhi.

His 49 days in power as CM saw the corrupt scurrying for cover. Rishwat Khori was a thing of the past as all bribe takers were terrified of being recorded in the act. Donations for schools came to a screeching halt. Government hospitals were transformed as medicines and staff re-appeared miraculously. The price of water and electricity were substantially reduced. The water mafia was gone. The JaL board was cleansed of its corrupt staff. The anti-corruption bureau was rejigged to weed out the compromised elements. Under Kejriwal, the everyday life of the poor was dramatically improved as they no longer had to worry about policemen and other everyday extortionists. But alas it was all too good to last.

To read the rest of this post please visit the Economic Times website where it was first published.

Will Delhi be the BJP’s Waterloo?

“Modi has become the PM because of the unity of Hindus. To maintain their majority, every Hindu family should produce 10 kids.” “No skirts as uniform for school girls any more; no jeans and mobile phones for girls; and item girls in films should be branded as prostitutes.” “Disabled people are God’s mistake.” And a message to the Khans of Bollywood: “Convert if you love your wives” – This is just a sampling of  pronouncements from the BJP and its supporters at various levels since coming to power.

If everything described above isn’t enough, these days, sycophants are arbitrarily appointed to positions of power. “Modi, my action hero,” says new Censor Board chief. How can we be serious about such individuals being sincere custodians of art, culture, and cinema?

To read the rest of the post please visit the Economic Times website where it was first published.