Kejriwal lacks perseverance
Dear Sir,
With reference to Sasankan’s letter ( “Kejriwal is a hero”, Gulf Times, February 18), criticising me vehemently on my observation regarding the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), I would like to point out that I have no affinity towards any political party or group in India since I have criticised both the mainstream Indian parties along with the AAP for its motive.
I also have no prejudice against Arvind Kejriwal. I am aware of his contributions to various fields and about the awards he has received for his commendable work . I have only criticised his political motive. I also understand that the stand he has taken against corruption has significance and relevance in the present scenario.
We have to view the performance of the AAP government in Delhi with a broader perspective. It is true that populist measures like the slashing of electricity and water bills will be cheered by the public but their long-term implications need to be taken into consideration.
When the power tariff was reduced to 50%, the subsidy given and the recent waiver of bills will go from the state exchequer directly to private companies providing electricity. In short, the government has to pay the waiver or subsidy on behalf of each citizen. In the long-term it will drain the public finance of the Delhi government and to sustain the public finance it will be compelled to impose more tax on the people of Delhi and it will have an adverse impact on the state economy as well as the people of the state.
I would have supported Kejriwal if he had stayed in power in Delhi and tried to solve the issues of people living in the slums of Delhi. The slum-dwellers live in abysmal conditions, many without water and electricity. By bailing out, Kejriwal has actually helped the Congress and the BJP because he has messed up good initiatives like the audit of the power companies in Delhi and the judicial probe into the CWG scam, which he had launched. Please also remember that the great anti-corruption campaigner, Anna Hazare, has never supported Kejriwal since the latter became a full-time politician.
While evaluating the 67 years of governance in India, I am proud to say that India has elevated itself into the league of the powerful nations of the world under the eminent leadership of people like Jawaharlal Nehru , Indira Gandhi and A B Vajpayee.
It was the perseverance and non-violence of Mahatma Gandhi that had given freedom to India and not the revolutionary ideals of Bhagat Singh and this holds a lesson for Kejriwal.
I wish Kejriwal had the patience and perseverance of Mahatma Gandhi in his bid to clean up corruption which will be acceptable to each and everyone in the country and not a sudden spurt of action which is driven by emotion.
Jawahar Bharathan, [email protected]
Informative and enjoyable
Dear Sir,
I really feel honoured to get a chance to participate in the 10th International Qatar TESOL Conference held on February 21-22 at North Atlantic College, Doha. The topic for this year was “Promoting a culture of reading”. The conference was informative and enjoyable.
We, as teachers and parents, could find various ways to inculcate reading habit among our students and children. Throughout the conference we got lots of opportunities to network and mingle with other participants and presenters from various backgrounds . Special thanks must go to Skipp Symes and Sherry Ward, the co-chairs of Qatar TESOL 2014, for arranging such a wonderful conference.
Jency George, Teacher, MES Indian School, Doha
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