‘Change is more urgent now’

HMTV organises talk on Kaun Banega AP’s Kejriwal?

• Speakers stress on AAP-type experiment in AP
• They feel time is ripe for igniting the minds of people
• They aver State is not bereft of honest politicians
• Many a Kejriwal waiting on wings, say youth
• People urged to come forward to cleanse politics

Hyderabad: A change in politics is more urgent than ever and it is a well-acknowledged fact that the much-needed change should come from within ourselves, stressed the speakers at the talk on ‘Kaun Banega Kejriwal’ organised by HMTV on Sunday.

It is high time people rejected the political parties that have been corrupting the electorate with money power, the speakers, comprising a cross-section of society, felt. They also observed that it is unlikely that the much-needed change can be brought about in a single go by any single person.

People, as a collective responsibility, should help end corruption that has emerged as an all encompassing order of the day. The Aam Aadmi Party owes its spectacular success in Delhi to the burning desire in the society for change that could stir every one into action. Arvind Kejriwal gained the acceptance of the people in Delhi in a short span of time just because of the fact that he could instill confidence among them. It is, however, agreed that politics is not bereft of honest people. Prof Sanjay Lodha, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, drew roots of the anti-corruption movement back to Devdungri in Rajasthan, where MKSS (Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan) launched a blitzkrieg against corruption. MKSS tried to take on political culture at the grassroots level by even contesting for sarpanch posts, he pointed out.

According to Dr Lodha, the national campaign against corruption attained significance in 1990 and it brought about a significant change in the thinking of rulers, which later prompted the government to bring in legislations like Right to Information (RTI).

The same kind of the pressure pushed the government to think of the schemes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), and very recently Food Security Act, he analysed. Lodha noted that there were several micro movements in the history against the politics of corruption, but could not turn into a major political movement like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The activists, who felt that the dignity of the common man was being compromised because of the vested politicians, saw an opportunity to become a formidable force under Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership. He held that there were pressure groups like National Alliance for People’s Movement (NAPA), but this was the first time a ‘concrete step’ was made. “A significant dent would be made in the political culture of country with this”, he said. Lauding the bold initiative of Delhi voters, V V Rao, a social activist, said that the voter opted for a marked change in the pattern of voting practiced in the national capital. He felt that the politicians who were exploiting the weaknesses of voters by dividing them in the name of caste were now being challenged. After learning from the experience of Kejriwal, parties like Loksatta, TDP and YSRCP were catching up with the trend. Rao said that even in Andhra Pradesh, people had completely lost faith in the politicians. He asked as to how many politicians were taking the people into confidence before making major decisions related to their own localities. “Those who wish a change should create an atmosphere of competition between the politicians. It is then only a new political culture would be a reality,” said Rao Guduru Satyanarayana, an industrialist and political activist, said that the success of AAP was due to the people’s movement.

“Actually, we first tried to register the party’s name as AAP from Andhra Pradesh. We met Prashanth Bhusan, an AAP leader at Delhi, at a press conference and discussed a few quick things about the party. He said that there could be a large number of enthusiastic new entrants to the fledgling party. The aged ones, too, would join the bandwagon on the selfserving notion that if you cannot beat them, join them,” he informed. Prof Ramesh Reddy, a volunteer of AAP, said the AAP holds out an opportunity to everyone to have a say in deciding their destiny. “It is high time we changed the corrupt system of India forever.

It is time we made politics a noble and respectable calling once again.” He said that in Delhi, the party created a tsunami by rolling out different measures to ensure larger participation of women in their campaign. “After their daily chores, the women took ‘jaadu’ (broom) and reached out for door-todoor campaigning. Similarly, we also want women to come forward in their individual capacity and generate that ownership feeling within ourselves to bring about Sampoorna Swaraj (Total Independence).

With the formation of AAP government in Delhi, the country is going to witness a novel experiment in politics,” he said. He further added that he was thankful to HMTV for taking the upper hand and giving him an opportunity to share his views. “The sad story is that our taxes are invested in politicians’ salaries and allowances, and we are being treated as servants. Now the time has come to act as masters,” said Ramesh.