Rejoinder to Yahoo news article 'AAP MLAs who aren't that aam'

The article by Mail Today begins by saying that 'not everyone in the AAP is 'aam'...' The news daily has relied on the reports and findings of the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) in bringing out this article. I am amazed seeing the way this daily has picked and chosen data from a fifty seven page report generated by the ADR without furnishing adequate details, failing to which it, deliberately or otherwise, tends to mislead its readers.

The very phrase 'crorepati MLA' attracts every reader's attention. As soon as we see this phrase our mind decides that this particular MLA is very rich and that there is a great possibility that he has either used a lot of money to contest the elections or, if he is a re-elected MLA, he has made a lot of money during his tenure as a MLA. Both the contentions are valid. But, there is need to think deeper and to read between the lines.

In the past, even I was a victim to this knee-jerk response. To make things clearer, the word crorepati needs to be explained, especially when it pertains to being used as a factor in giving details about an elected representative, where his efficiency, integrity and bonafide is being put under a watch. There are certain nuance issues which need to be kept in mind, which we all know but is worthy of being reminded while such an issue is being discussed. While filing the nomination papers before contesting an election, every candidate is required to furnish, inter alia, the financial details like the annual income, the value of all of the movable and the immovable assets, not just of his/her, but also of his/her spouse's and dependents'. Simply put, if a candidate has a bigger family and has working children (or dependents), his finances will show a higher value. Another factor that adds up to the financial value is the property that a candidate inherits from his father/mother. This is to be noted clearly as a candidate spends nothing at all to procure this asset, as it is only his being born in that family that becomes a reason for his being in possession of such a property. In families where the number of children are less, the value of such assets necessarily are higher. Also, it is to be remembered that the value of the assets appreciate over the years. If land is a component in the asset it is sure of showing a highly inflated value, given the real estate boom in our country. Hence a clear picture can be arrived at only if we are given the data of when and at what price was an asset procured by a candidate.

Having said this, let me re-furnish some of the major findings of the ADR report viz-a-viz the financial assets of the Aam Aadmi Party candidates. The report says that the average asset per MLA in Delhi is Rs. 10.83cr. When party wise average asset is seen, the BJP has the highest with its average MLA having assets worth Rs. 12.49cr, followed by the Congress MLAs with Rs. 10.25cr and the AAP MLAs with only 1.82cr. (The details of only the BJP, AAP & the Congress is being compared by me as they are the three major parties in Delhi this time) Clearly, if only the average asset per MLA in Delhi was given, and the party wise average wasn't, the picture would have been ambiguous.

Another set of figures that the report highlights, is the number of 'crorepati MLAs' in each party and their percentage. 30 out of the 31 MLAs of the BJP (97%), 12 out of the 28 of AAP (43%) and 7 out of the 8 of the Congress (88%) are 'crorepati MLAs'.

ADR has researched and incorporated in its report another set of interesting statistic. This is the chances of winning of 'candidates with low assets', i.e., with less than Rs. 1cr assets, and the chances of winning of the crorepati candidates. Here, the victory of the crorepati candidates from the BJP is 52% and that of 'candidates with low assets' is only 10%. The Congress party fares same with both crorepati candidates and 'candidates with low assets'. The striking feature is that AAP is the only party where the victory of 'candidates with low assets' has been more than that of the victory of crorepati candidates. Only 36% of the crorepati candidates of the AAP were victorious whilst 43% of the 'candidates with low assets' won, clearly indicating that the value of assets of the AAP candidates has not been a factor in their winning viz-a-viz the BJP and the Congress.

An interesting finding of the report upon which my eyes were attracted, but the Mail Today article has failed to mention, is that none of the AAP MLAs find a place in the top ten 'crorepati MLAs'. A more interesting fact is that the ten MLAs with the lowest value of assets is from the AAP, the lowest having asset only worth Rs. 20,800 and the highest of the lowest ten having assets worth Rs. 13lakh. This finding, hwever, has been mentioned by the news daily.

Going back to the sentence with which the Mail Today started their article, that 'not everyone in the AAP is 'aam'...', I would like to pose a question to you, the diligent reader. Who in your eyes is an aam aadmi? Is it that only the poorest of poor is an aam aadmi? Or is it that only the people who are labelled BPL constitute aam aadmi? Essentially, all people are aam aadmis except those who loot the country whether in power or not. An aam aadmi wishes to see India prosper. His/her activities are not anti-people. Having money does not make a person 'khaas' aadmi.

Setting aside this definiton of aam aadmi, for a moment let us consider the daily's contention that all of AAP's MLAs aren't aam. As it is to understand that this daily considers only the financial part of a person to define whether or not he/she is an aad aadmi, I will hence explain in detail the assets of the MLAs, who are not 'aam'.

Veena Anand is AAP's richest MLA with an asset worth of Rs. 15cr. Let me also state that the richest MLA in Delhi is Manjinder Singh Sirsa with an asset worth of Rs. 231cr. Coming to the assets of Veena Anand, she runs a business and has an annual income of Rs. 5.8lakh and her spouse too has an annual income of the same amount. Together they hold cash of Rs. 10lakh, bank deposits and NSS & postal savings whose value now is Rs. 32lakh and 38lakh respectively. They together have bonds and shares worth of Rs. 1.3cr. She has two residential buildings. One of 1800 sq.ft. purchased in 2007 for Rs. 53lakh and is now worth Rs. 2cr. Another house is of 7200 sq.ft. and was purchased in 2011 for Rs. 5cr and is now worth Rs. 8cr. She and her husband also owns a commercial building with an area of 1425 sq. ft. which was purchased for Rs. 7lakh and whose current value is Rs. 45lakh.

The second richest AAP MLA is Bandana Kumari who is self employed and has a total asset value of Rs. 8.9cr and a liability of Rs. 9.7cr. She has an annual income of Rs. 2.6lakh and that of her spouse's is Rs. 6lakh. They together hold cash of Rs. 1.5lakh, bank deposits currently worth Rs. 1.25lakh, close to 20 pavan jewellery worth 4.8lakh and a car worth Rs. 3lakh. She inherited 25 acres of land from her parents and is now worth Rs. 8cr. She owns a 900 sq.ft. house which was purchased in 1998 for Rs. 1.5lakh and is now worth Rs. 45lakh.

The third richest AAP MLA, Satyendra Kumar Jain has been an architect for the past 20 years. He has a combined asset worth of Rs. 8cr. He has an annual income of Rs. 8.5 lakh and his wife, who too is an architect, has an annual income of Rs. 5lakh. They, along with two of their dependents have bank deposits worth Rs. 32lakh and bonds worth Rs. 1cr, NSS and LIC worth Rs. 43lakh and 98 pawan of jewellery worth Rs. 22lakh. He has advanced loans worth Rs. 12lakh. He owns two houses of combined worth of Rs. 2.5cr, but was purchased at Rs. 80lakhs. His wife owns a 900 sq.ft. house worth Rs. 1.5cr.

Now, it would also be pertinent to give details of Arvind Kejriwal's financial assets that amount to Rs. 2cr. He has an annual income of Rs. 2lakh and that of his wife is Rs. 9.8lakh. They both hold cash of Rs. 15,000. He has bank deposits worth Rs. 1lakh and his wife has Rs. 7lakh. They have jewellery worth Rs. 9lakh. He has a 2400 sq.ft building which was purchased in 1998 at Rs. 3.5lakh whose current worth is Rs. 55lakh. He also inherited a 6750 sq.ft. building whose worth is now Rs. 37lakh. And his wife owns a 2244 sq.ft. flat purchased in 2010 for Rs. 61lakh whose current worth is Rs. 1cr.

It is for you, the diligent reader, to decide whether these are aam aadmis or as the daily contends 'not that aam'.

An appeal to all partriots

We Indians are perhaps the most cynical people in the world. We have opinions about every single thing that happen around us and air those opinions with great deal of articulation. Thanks to the proliferation of the Internet and the social media, the voicing of our opinion has become a very easy task. But, if you would pause for a moment and give a thought to this, you will notice that most of us including me, stop at just expressing strong views - either showing solidarity or disseminating disgust - at the events that happen. We all probably know that acting rather than commenting is what is really needed. By saying this, I am not to the least belittling the act of our voicing views without acting. We all have our own limitations. To act on every issue we comment is difficult. 

Happiness or frustration usually builds up at a very slow pace. First we simply see/hear and keep quiet. Next we start to think. Then we comment. It is only after this stage that we tend to act. Action is thus the last step which we take recourse to. Some act soon, others slowly, which of course depends on the nature of an individual and also his dearness to the cause. 

There's a wide degree of difference with which different causes attract different individuals. Some get attracted to environment whilst others to economy, some to movies whilst others to Mars missions, some to literature whilst others to literacy. But, there's one thing about which we all Indians should think, comment, and if possible, act. That is politics. I know the sight of this word itself would have caused irritation to some of you. It is not you who is to be faulted for this, but the present political class we have in our country. But let me tell you that we cannot love and cherish our democracy and scorn and hate politics because it is politics that ensures the functioning of a democracy, where in we the people are supreme. 

The state of our democracy has been steadily moving towards the lowest ebb and some of us have started writing off hope on our country. The way political parties function has created a cloud of pessimism over us which has shadowed our hopes and aspirations. But, the peculiarity of this cloud is that, though this too has a silver lining around it, it becomes visible very rarely. Now is probably only the second time that this lining is being seen. The first was in the 1974, when Shriman Jayaprakash Narayan gave the call for Total Revolution against the then autocratic central government headed by Shrimati Indira Gandhi. The aftermath of this was the declaration of Emergency and in the ensuing elections the Congress had a devastating defeat and then came the first non-Congress government in India under the Janata Party. Until then the people could never even imagine of a non-Congress government coming to power in India because the Congress earlier used to be represented by stalwarts like Gandhiji, Patelji and Jawahrlalji. But then, it was the common man who rose and won.

Similar is the situation now in India. The second time the silver lining of the cloud is being seen. A sight which has brought light and removed the darkness of pessimism. The emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party as an alternative to the conventional political parties has already captured the imagination of many with the Delhi assembly election results. The AAP lays its foundation not on religion, caste, language, etc. like the conventional political parties, but on truth, integrity, honesty and Swaraj (self-rule). When the AAP was born from the anti-corruption movement as a political force, it earned only ridicule. Now, after the Delhi election results, political parties and pundits see AAP as a major contender. 

This 180 degree change in assessment of the party has come into play only because the people reposed faith in the party and it could win 28 seats in Delhi elections. But for the support and blessings of a large number of people, this would never have happened. The AAP considers itself not as a political party but as a political revolution. And a revolution cannot be restricted to Delhi alone, it needs to spread to all parts of the country so as to spread the message of Swaraj.

Friends, the opportunity has come right in front of your door step. To shut the door will make you regret. I would from the deepest point of my heart request you to be a part of this political revolution. To all who hate politics, I will remind you again, this is not the usual politics you have seen or heard of. Have you heard of a political party that makes public, that too on its website, every Rupee it receives? Have you heard of a political party that stopped accepting donations once it achieved the target money it had set for contesting an election? Have you heard of a party that assured to contest elections only using white money and proved it to the people? Have you heard of any party that has a clause in its constitution that it will not allow more than one member from a family to have official posts under the party? This point effectively destroys dynasty politics, which has been a bane to Indian politics. Have you heard of a political party that promises that once elected to power, their members would not take red beacon cars and government given bungalows? Have you heard of a party which believes in decentralization so much that it prepared election manifestos for every single constituency because it knew that the needs of different constituencies are totally different? Have you heard of a party which does not have a high command culture and thus the members decide who should contest the election and who should not and also where one should contest elections from? Have you heard of a political party which gives the public, even if they are not its members, to have a say in the candidate selection process by means of public hearing? Have you heard of a political party that encourages public to bring to its notice charges of criminal or other cases against the candidates it is going to nominate for elections? Have you heard of a political party that removed its candidate less than a week before the elections upon getting information that there was a case pending against him in the court? This actually happened in the Delhi assembly election. A candidate of AAP who was to contest from the Rajouri Garden constituency in Delhi was withdrawn by the party after they found it to be true that there was a dowry case pending against him in the court. Hence the AAP only contested in 69 of the 70 assembly seats in Delhi. It keeps its assurance given to the public that it will not send wrong persons as representatives of the people to the assembly or Parliament. 

I am sure you will not be able to find a party founded and functioning in such principled fashion. This the reason why it is said that the AAP is not just a party but a political revolution. This is the same reason why I want you all to become a part of it and help cleanse India. 

I would request you to register yourself as a member of this party.You can find all the details of membership here -http://www.aamaadmiparty.org/join-us 

Being a member, however, in no way mean that you should compulsorily work for the party. You can volunteer in many ways possible by updating information about AAP on your FB or Twitter profiles, by going to the AAP office in your locality and helping them in some work if you wish to, you may join our rallies and show support, you may even donate to the party. There's a lot of things that one can do. I myself had seen the way people come out to help. Some come with their cars on a holiday and volunteer to drop other volunteers to their location of work or carry party propaganda material for distribution, some come to cook food in the office, some musicians come with musical instruments and offer to sing to the public spreading the agenda of the party. Some lawyers and auditors come to help. What I mean to say is that any person with an intention to cleanse India of corruption and want to see India as a great nation can be of help in this political revolution. 

You can visit the party website or contact me should you need further information. 

Time for airing opinions and commenting without acting has come to an end. Looking forward for your message saying that you have become a member of this political revolution. 

Jai Hind!

Alternative to a hung assembly in Delhi

In more ways than one the Delhi assembly election results that came out on the eight of December was re-affirming. The ire among the people against the Congress party per se was writ large with the party facing a terrible defeat, especially in Delhi where it was reduced merely to eight seats in a house of seventy. Shiela Dixit's proximity to the central government made her defeat all the more devastating. The BJP was successful in galvanizing the anti-Congress mood prevailing in the country to their advantage. In Delhi, both the BJP and the AAP shared the anti-incumbency votes. 

To many, the most spectacular phenomenon in the Delhi assembly election results has however been the success of a year old party - the Aam Aadmi Party, which considers itself a political 'revolution' more than just a political 'party'. AAP was dubbed by many senior politicians as 'vote cutter', 'chillar party', 'a bunch of power hungry people', and even abused by one senior politician by labeling its members as 'AAPtards'. Media, too, were not all that confidant about the AAP. They considered the AAP as a serious contender very lately. All said, the results made all the abusers take back their words. Some politicians were gracious enough to accept their mistake in under estimating the following the AAP had. Some congratulated the AAP on its victory. The media is now in full praise of the AAP and has re-christened the AAP Convenor Arvind Kejriwal as the 'Giant Killer'. 

Despite this all, I would not hesitate to say that the AAP, by winning only 28 seats, and hence being unable to form a government on its own, has caused a slight deal of disappointment in the minds of its supporters and all those who were hoping to see the true victory of the Indian democracy and its people. The election results came out to be such that even the Bharatiya Janata Party, founded way back in 1980, winning 31 seats, could not get a majority to form a government. 

The talks of AAP forming a coalition with the BJP or the Congress party has been doing the rounds in all political spheres. To put things in perspective, it is necessary to reiterate that the AAP was born out of the anger and contempt against the conventional political parties, mainly the Congress and the BJP. To ask the AAP to now join hands with either of them is morally and ethically incorrect. Moreover the voters pressed on the 'Jhado' - the election symbol of the AAP, on the voting machines because they saw AAP as an alternative to the Congress and the BJP. AAP to now align with either of these would tantamount to betrayal of the voters of Delhi, which of course a party built on the principles of truth and honesty, would not consider. 

Technically, the onus to form the government lies primarily on the BJP because it is this party that has the maximum number of seats. That they are not willing to form the government tells the following.

1. Their ego, being a major national political party, is not letting them to form a government by obtaining any sort of support from others.
2. They are under the impression that if President's rule comes into play and the re-elections happen after six months, the Modi wave, which they seem to rely on hugely, would spread more and will create great fortunes for them in Delhi. 
3. The benchmark set by the debutant AAP that it will not align with parties with whom their ideologies doesn't match has forced the BJP to follow the same so as to create a 'we are good too' image in the eyes of the public.

The stalemate is to continue if not for a quick and decisive action. Re-election is a provision in the Constitution and it can be adhered to. But the apprehensions cast on it by a huge section of people cannot be given a Nelson's eye. To my mind, the following can be a viable alternative, if not the only or the best one.

The Chief Ministerial candidate of the BJP, Dr. Harshavardhan has made it clear that he and his party is going to perform with honesty and integrity. If this is so, it is obvious that their acts would be free from corruption and that all their moves would be pro-people. I am sure that the AAP would never obstruct any move which is free from malign and is pro-people. As said earlier, BJP being the party with the maximum number of seats, should hence form a minority government in the Delhi assembly, and work with courage. There is no provision in the Constitution which prevents a party from forming a government. The fact that matters is the number of votes, or the majority that they get in the house. If any matter comes up for voting, and if the AAP is satisfied that it is in the best interests of the people, the AAP's votes would definitely be with the BJP. 

But if the BJP breaks or forgets its promise of working with honesty and integrity, the AAP would not support it in the floor of the house and the government would fall short of majority vote and hence topple. 

This is a challenge as well as an opportunity for the BJP to prove its worth. If it achieves success, it will not only raise their prospects in the coming General Elections of 2014 but also prove to the world that coalition politics can work well if the intention of the legislators are good, pure and pro-people. But the story will all together be a different one if the promises by Dr. Harshavardhan of the BJP aren't kept. 

Wisdom lies in taking calculated risks. The result shall be destiny's choice. Din't Arvind Kejriwal take the risk of contesting against the strongest candidate of the Delhi Congress, Shiela Dixit and yet win by a margin of 26,000 votes?  

Jai Hind!