By Usha Rani Das:
With the Delhi polls nearing, the whole country is waiting with bated breath to see the outcome. Delhi has always been the attraction of the country, since time immemorial. On reading history, one can get a fair idea of the struggle she had to face to protect her glory. From foreign invasions and mass destruction by rulers to take revenge, Delhi has always been the victim of cruelty. And, just when she thought the worse was over, there came Congress. Although the reign of Sheila Dixit brought changes to Delhi, but for the past three to four years, the capital city has cried for help desperately but everyone chose not to listen, especially the ones who should. She went through a vicious circle of life, from bad to better and then to worse again. Enough is enough! It is time we rescue her from being the scapegoat of cruel politics again. The least we can do is to vote, and to vote judiciously.
It all began with the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Corruption was exposed when irregularities were noticed in the import of streetlights for the game. Not only the corruption, the inadequateness of the capital to host such an international sports event was remarkably noticed by the whole world. Broken bridges, unfinished roads, pile of debris on roadsides, the unclean roads and localities clearly reflected the poor administration of the country. Then came the epidemic of dengue due to unexpected heavy rains. There was so much debris on roads that mosquitoes were breeding everywhere. There were no beds in the hospitals and patients had to stay in the corridors. There was massive deficiency of everything required to cure a dengue patient. Delhi was not prepared for such disasters at all. The poor health services of the National Capital were exposed to the world. She cried seeing the pain of her people but not a single leader came to her rescue. Instead, the Congress shamelessly began suppressing the statistics of the Dengue casualties.
Though Sheila Dixit solved the transport problems by building flyovers and metros, she forgot to make them safer for the common man. Every other day, a man is murdered or a woman is sexually harassed there and let’s not go into the regular disputes that take place every now and then between the road travellers. She solved the electricity problem but forgot to make them affordable to the common man. The expensive electricity is such a distress for the public that they will prefer sitting in the dark than enjoying a cheerfully lighted room. She arranged for security of the public but sadly, forgot the difference between 70 police for one VIP and one police for 70 men. Even after the outrage and protests against the Delhi rape case of Damini, the security is still not tightened. And that is the reason madam that Delhi has earned the name of ‘Rape Capital’ during your reign.
Sheila Dixit made a clean and green Delhi but forgot to arrange for the means to enjoy it in its full glory, thanks to the rising inflation. The public is almost on the verge of going hungry or scantily fed. The public are struggling to make both ends meet. While we are struggling, let’s not forget the cause behind it.
I think we have not forgotten. And hence the youth of India believes Aam Admi Party to be their saviour. This year’s Delhi election is a triple fight between the Congress (Sheila Dixit), the BJP (Dr. Harshawardhan) and the AAP (Arvind Kejriwal). I don’t know who will win, nor can I suggest who you should vote for, that is solely your personal privilege. But one thing is for sure, our Delhi needs a radical change. The whole system needs to be uprooted and processed from root to tip to make it corruption free, to make a Delhi we all dreamt of. Change is needed to bring back the smile on Delhi’s face again.