By Dyuthi:
He might be accused of laying the foundation of ‘Team Arvind‘ while stealing the limelight from ‘Team Anna‘. He might be the one having to take the blame for all the commotion back in Delhi that led to fallout between Kiran Bedi and the rest of the team. I however still believe that Arvind Kejriwal is a man of substance. Kejriwal, in my opinion has everything that a good politician needs to have:
A man of morals: In a country like ours, anyone can become a politician. But a good politician is like a rare and extremely precious gem. Kejriwal’s intention to serve people: something that is very hard to find today, has been the driving force throughout his career. It was this desire that made him resign from his job at Tata Steel and work for Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, the Ramakrishna Mission in the North-East and the Nehru Yuva Kendra.
Excellent oratorical skills: A good politician is someone who can easily put up a one man’s show and make a great impact despite having no one to help him. We’ve have seen from the good old days, that a person who talks effectively influences people in ways no one else does: be it Mahatma Gandhi or Mrs Indira Gandhi. Arvind is someone who has always satisfied this condition. After Anna Hazare, it was his words that stirred thousands of people to follow him to the residences of those who held power, to protest against the corruption involved in the Coalgate issue. His words took over the hearts of millions in our country.
Be the change you want to see in the world: Arvind is someone who has always stood by these words spoken by Mahatma Gandhi. You cannot expect the system to be corruption free until you be a part of the change, you have to go out there and clean up the dirt. It was this urge of his that led to the foundation of Parivartan, a Delhi based citizens movement which works on ensuring a just, transparent and accountable governance. Kejriwal, along with other like-minded people campaigned for the RTI (Right to Information) Act. Thereafter, it became a law at the national level. Similarly, when he urged people to support the IAC (India Against corruption) for passing the Jan Lokpal bill, he himself went on hunger strikes for days.
A man with a lot of experience: Being a part of the system accounts for better experience than being a graduate from some XYZ school of business or some obscure foreign university. Interestingly, Arvind Kejriwal has been a part of the system ever since he left his job at Tata Steel. Right from being associated with charity work or being a IRS officer, he has worked with the people and seen it all. This experience has clearly made him someone who understands that corruption is the root cause of every problem in our country.
The never give up attitude: It would have been very easy for Mr Kejriwal and his supporters, to accept the weak Lokpal bill that was drafted in the last monsoon session. But this basic intention of striving for the better has been the cause behind having things the way they are today, Arvind Kejriwal is proof of the fact.
Everyone has their own definition of a politician. Some see politicians as people who are fake, corrupt, diplomatic and scheming – the ones that actually manage to achieve success in this country. On the other hand, some believe that there exist politicians who are genuine, morally driven people who intend to make our country a better place to live. I would always second the latter part of the statement and firmly believe that Mr Kejriwal is one of those rare politicians.