Late night on 14th
February an activist friend of mine called me from Delhi …
Friend: “You must be happy to see Kejriwal Government fall?”
Me: “How are you? … hmmm … at least the daily dose of drama
will subside …”
Friend: “You just hate him without logic … he has principles
… he chose not to bow down before Ambani”
Me: “Ambani? What did Ambani have to do with the drama in
the Delhi Assembly?”
Friend: (getting agitated)
“Mukesh Ambani paid money to your BJP and those Congress goons to bring
down the Government … come on you should know about this, you stay in Mumbai”
Me: “Mukesh Ambani paid money to my BJP?”
Friend: (getting even
more agitated) “YES! Truckloads of cash moved from Mumbai to Delhi to pay off
the BJP and Congress goons … did you not hear of it”
Me: “No I haven’t and Mukesh Ambani certainly doesn’t tell
me about such things …”
Friend: “All you corporate types are the same, you are all
ganging up”
Me: “Who are ganging up and against whom?”
Friend: (almost
hysterical) “Corporate India and likes of you are ganging up to bring down
the AAP Government”
Me: “I thought you just told me it was Mukesh Ambani who
conspired to bring down the AAP Government, now you are telling me it’s a
conspiracy hatched by the entire Corporate India … why would we want to do
that?”
Friend: “Don’t be coy … you know it better than me. Mukesh
Ambani is running scared because Arvind exposed him and the FIR was filed
against him”
Me: “Listen … you need to get a few facts correct …”
Friend: (angrily) “You
get your facts correct …”
Me: “OK … OK … but let me at least clarify a few things with
you …”
Friend: “Hmmm … but it’s a shame that people like you are so
blinded and don’t see the truth”
Me: “Please listen to me … Please … Please … Kejriwal was
not thrown out … he resigned … right”
Friend: “It’s as good as being thrown out … he resigned when
the Jan Lokpal bill was defeated in the assembly. Your BJP and those Congress
Goons ganged up and defeated the bill”
Me: “MY BJP? It’s not my BJP … and the bill was never tabled
in the house … the BJP and Congress voted to get the bill ratified first by the
Lt. Governor, they voted on the Lt. Governor’s letter to the assembly … so how
could be bill be tabled … you can’t do it … it’s illegal”
Friend: “Jan Lokpal is legal … and it was tabled”
Me: “That would be for the courts to decide … and the bill
was not tabled”
Friend: “But Kejriwal told us the bill was defeated by the
BJP and Congress”
Me: “How could it be defeated if it was not even placed
before the assembly correctly and anyway the BJP and Congress told Kejriwal to
follow the procedure and table the bill in the house. They both made public
commitments to get it passed. They will commit political suicide if they don’t
support the Jan Lokpal bill”
Friend: “But Kejriwal said …”
Me: “Get your facts correct … Kejriwal did not get the bill
tabled properly in the house, no voting was done on the Jan Lokpal, the BJP and
Congress told him to get the bill tabled properly which could have been done
within a week. But he chose not to … do you know why?”
Friend: (again getting
agitated) “Since you know so much … why don’t you tell me?”
Me: “Kejriwal never wanted the bill passed … if he had got
the bill passed he would have nothing left to create more drama with … right … and
the BJP and Congress would say they passed the bill … Kejriwal is a minority
Govenrment … right … the BJP and Congress would also take the credit for
passing the Jan Lokpal bill … right”
Friend: “But he told us that the bill was defeated …”
Me: “Read the house proceedings tomorrow and you will know
the bill was not even voted on … how could it be defeated … right … and can you
please tell me why your Kejriwal did not follow the constitutional rules if he
was so serious about getting the Jan Lokpal bill passed?”
Friend: “Kejriwal said he did not have to take the Central
Government’s permission to table the bill … even Soli Sorabjee said the same
thing …”
Me: “Listen … read between the action and the intent … he knows
that if he had followed the rules in tabling the bill properly, the BJP and
Congress would pass the bill … right … right?”
Friend: “Right …”
Me: “After that what? What drama material would he be left
with?”
Friend: “After passing the bill the Jan Lokpal would get
formed …”
Me: “Exactly … do you think the Jan Lokpal bill would end corruption
overnight?”
Friend: “Jan Lokpal can put people in Jail for being corrupt
… it will frighten the corrupt people …”
Me: “Jan Lokpal will be a an investigating agency with lots
of powers, only the courts can put people in jail and that too under existing
laws … the Jan Lokpal cannot … how can you be so naive?”
Friend: (getting
angry) “I haven’t read the Jan Lokpal bill …”
Me: “Then what are you fighting for? You haven’t even read
it … has anyone in you circle read the Jan Lokpal Bill?”
Friend: “No … I don’t Know … but Kejriwal has told us that
the Jan Lokpal bill will put all the corrupt behind bars …”
Me: “How do you know who is corrupt? Someone has to complain
and then someone has to investigate … right … then file a FIR … then fight a
court case and convict the person … right … and then send that person to prison
… how can the Jan Lokpal send someone to prison directly?”
Friend: “You are confusing me …”
Me: “Hello! I am trying to unconfuse you … please read the
bill understand the provisions and then jump to conclusions … none of you seem
to have read the bill or understood the bill and yet you all are jumping up and
down about this bill”
Friend: “Kejriwal told us that the Jan Lokpal will solve the
issues …”
Me: “You said the Jan Lokpal will frighten people and
prevent corruption … right … right … imagine a situation where I can tomorrow
stand up and accuse anyone in the Government of being corrupt and that person
will be investigated … put under suspension … and God knows what else … what if
the person was not corrupt and was not listening to something which I wanted
done wrongly?”
Friend: “You would be put in jail and not that person …”
Me: “Really … do you think so … the lynch mob would have
slaughtered that Government official who has been falsely accused …”
Friend: “But the person will get a fair trial”
Me: “Right … but till then what would happen to that person?
And do you think the Government officials will take any decision or do any work
when the Jan Lokpal is breathing down their necks … as it is they don’t work …
when this happens these same officials will bring out all kinds of bureaucratic
nonsense to not do any work … who do you think will suffer?”
Friend: “We will …”
Me: “So what will you have achieved?”
Friend: (getting very
angry once more) “Don’t twist the issue … your debating talent will not
fool me … What about Mukesh Ambani?”
Me: “What about Ambani? What has he got to do with the Jan
Lokpal and the Kejriwal Government resigning?”
Friend: “He made sure that Kejriwal Government fell the moment
the Gas FIR was filed”
Me: “Actually it is that FIR which is full of gas … please …
please … remember Kejriwal RESIGNED, his Government was not brought down by the
opposition or Ambani, he had the Congress support in the assembly which made
him a majority Government … Kejriwal resigned … RESIGNED”
Friend: (angry) “Resigned … I know … don’t repeat … it’s the
same, his Government was made to fall”
Me: “Resigned … he chose to get out of Governance and when
you choose something it is always planned … right?”
Friend: “No … he was forced”
Me: “Who forced him to resign? The Congress did not withdraw
support from him … who forced him?”
Friend: “Mukesh Ambani forced him”
Me: “Ambani forced him? How?”
Friend: “I don’t know Yogendra and Ashutosh told us”
Me: “How did Ambani force Kejriwal to resign … he could only
force Kejriwal to resign if Ambani had some leverage on Kejriwal … which means
Kejriwal must have done something wrong in the past which could get exposed or
else how could Ambani get enough leverage to get him to resign?”
Friend: “Kejriwal is clean … don’t accuse him of any wrong
doings when there is no proof against him … he is a good man”
Me: “I did not say he was bad … maybe loony and too smart
with a hidden agenda, but I never said he was bad or corrupt … there is no
proof against him … innocent till proven guilty … right … right?”
Friend: “Yes … right”
Me: “Then tell me how did Kejriwal, Ashutosh and Yogendra
come up with the list of corrupt people without and proof”
Friend: “They will give the proof”
Me: “When … accuse someone and then run away when the proof
is asked for … you can’t do that … or can you?”
Friend: “Mukesh Ambani is looting the country”
Me: “You have proof?”
Friend: “His wealth grew 300 times in the last 10 years”
Me: “Yes … so did many more people I know of … in fact lots
of people made lots of money”
Friend: “But he is looting the country with this KG Basin
gas thing”
Me: “How?”
Friend: “Gas prices will double from Rs. 4 to Rs. 8 from 1st
April”
Me: “So file a case against it in the courts”
Friend: “Ashutosh said that the courts too are sold out to
Ambani, no justice will happen there”
Me: “Hmmm … are you sure … at least you can get the courts
to stay the price hike till the matter is resolved”
Friend: “There is a case already filed in the court”
Me: “So then fight the case if you think it’s wrong”
Friend: “Kejriwal told us that Ambani will make 56,000 crore
profit from this”
Me: “How did he come to that conclusion, is there some place
in the public domain where he has put up these facts and calculations”
Friend: “It’s there on the AAP website”
Me: “I have read it … it just ranting and propaganda … not
facts or figures”
Friend: “But Ambani is looting the country”
Me: “You know the Gas price is fixed by a tribunal … right …
and Ambani only produce and sell 15% of India’s gas … rest of it is produced by
ONGC, GAIL and other PSUs”
Friend: “I did not know that”
Me: “Did not know what?”
Friend: “85% of the gas is PSU owned”
Me: “Kejriwal did not tell you that?”
Friend: “No he did not”
Me: “Which means logically if Ambani makes 56,000 crores
after the hike, the PSUs would make 375,000 crores in profit”
Friend: “Wow!”
Me: “So who makes more money in this case?”
Friend: “PSUs”
Me: “So why does the FIR on gas not name the PSU directors
and the chairmen? They are equally guilty of this loot … right … right?”
Friend: “So what are you doing on Valentines?”
Me: “Nothing much … how about you?”
Friend: “Going home and then going out to dinner with my
husband … chal … nice speaking to you … you stop hating Kejriwal and your Namo
will not be the PM …”
Me: “My Namo?”
BEEP! BEEP! …
No comments:
Post a Comment