New Delhi: The never ending fight between Arvind Kejriwal and the Centre is heating up cold Delhi. This time a CBI raid on the office of his principal secretary Rajender Kumar has given new ammunition to Kejriwal to launch an all out attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A few minutes after the CBI raided and sealed his office in a case involving his Rajender Kumar, a livid Kejriwal attacked the Prime Minister calling him a coward and a psychopath. The BJP also hit back at Kejriwal calling him unfit to be a Chief Minister.
Kejriwal and the BJP-led Central government have been sharing a very tenuous relationship. The attack and counter attacks are a regular feature. Many times, they have crossed the lines of civility and lowered the standards of public discourse.
After Kejriwal stunned the nation by sweeping Delhi Assembly elections 10 months ago, the mud-slinging contest between AAP and BJP has become a regular affair. This fight does not seem to end till one of the two complete their term in office. Delhi is a 'trishanku' state as the Centre controls police and land and also has overriding authority over the state government in many matters.
Kejriwal's fight with Delhi police is legendary. Delhi Police has become a collateral damage in the fight between Modi and Kejriwal. The relationship between Kejriwal and Delhi police has always been very stormy.
Even before he came to power, he took on the Delhi police during Anna Hazare and Ramdev's agitation in 2011. During his first stint (49 days government) as chief minister, Kejriwal created a record of sorts by sleeping on Rajpath near Parliament building seeking action against the police for their action against his the then Law minister Somnath Bharti.
That agitation fizzled out and Kejriwal had to beat a hasty retreat. After he refused to seek bail in a case, Kejriwal was briefly sent to Tihar jail in Delhi in mid-2014.
Immediately after he returned to power in February 2015, Kejriwal once again took on the police. He demanded that the Centre should hand over the policing job to the elected state government. The appointment of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) chief once again brought them face to face. He even made a derogatory reference to Delhi police calling them ‘thullah’. Some Delhi police constables had even lodged complaints against him for this remark.
The Delhi Police's over enthusiastic actions against his ministers and MLAs like Jitendra Tomar, Somnath Bharti, Commando Surender Singh, Alka Lamba and a few others have also added to the already strained relationship and worsened the situation.
Kejriwal has been playing victim claiming that since he has no control over the police, he is not in a position to maintain law and order in Delhi. His statement has some logic and his argument is based on facts.
However what goes against him is his own comments against his predecessor Sheila Dikshit. When Sheila Dikshit was Delhi chief minister, Kejriwal had attacked her over deteriorating law and order situation in Delhi calling her a helpless chief minister. He had even asked her to quit instead of staying in power. His own words seem to have returned to haunt him now.
The fight is unlikely to end soon. His rivals allege that Kejriwal really does not want any actual control over the police because he will be safe as long as it is with the Centre. Once he gets control, he will have to deliver and can’t blame the Centre if and when the things go wrong, they argue.
A clever Kejriwal is playing to the gallery. He knows he has nothing to lose. He has pushed the ball into Modi’s court.
Sadly, the hapless people of Delhi can have a free entertainment at the cost of their own basic security till Modi and Kejriwal resolve their issues.
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