The national level leadership of AAP is currently active in
raising the issue of inflated electricity and water Bills in the NCR Delhi
region. Arvind Kejriwal and his Team has been able to garner enough support to
assimilate anger and anguish on the issues related to the common man the Aam Admi. The youths have been
enrolled as Volunteers, Technical Supporters for electricity connections and
the Legal experts are working round the
clock to register, record and systemize the steps for recoiling effect of the
public anger. The Delhi Government has full support of an NGO-minded son of the
Chief Minister who has been handling, sometimes mishandling the issues raised
by AAP. The breakaway group from Anna Movement has been steering very well
under the leadership of Arvind Kerjiwal.
 |
| Arvind Kejriwal, Photo Courtsey Rajeev Bhatt. |
Farmers have been struggling with low prices, untimely sale of their produce and apathy from the local Agricultural Markets. This has been complicated with strict recovery rules of the local Banks who are waiting for the circulars from the State Government to put off the Cycle of recovery for some months.
Billing by the electricity companies in M.P. has so
much to be corrected in the City and village level where the average billing
has neither stopped nor new Billing for the new electricity Meters started in
the areas where they are starting the 24X7 supply or no power cut zones. The
consumers are facing the problems of excessive Billing, standing in the long
queues in unhygienic conditions to deposit the Bills and facing un -scheduled power cuts for last few
months.
The conditions of the welfare schemes are now being limited
to regular announcements by the Chief Minister, which are hardly ever followed up by
the local bureaucracy.
Compounded by steep rise in inflation, bad roads, poor
infrastructures for Industries and no scope for self employment opportunities
for the local youth these are some of the
conditions favourable for AAP in Madhya Pradesh.
One incident which has adversely affected the RTI Movement
and thus both Anna Movement and then the vigour of AAP in M.P. is the gruesome murder of Shehla Masood, an RTI Activist from Bhopal who was steering the Anna movement. CBI is probing this murder-mystery and the whole theory is
revolving around the personal life , likes and dislikes , friends and foes and
families of the friends of Late Shehla
Masood. The political leader- criminal relationship is still not looked
into and the questioning of the leaders of the political-party is limited to
“courtesy calls”. The one family targeted after this murder is
still facing the usual Court room and media- trials ,with no logical ends in the
near future.
This incident has spread a degree of fear among the RTI workers and activists of the State that the -power- be in the State are strong enough to limit the scope of the usage on information gathered under RTI Act. The local Political environment is not supportive to agitate the minds of the youths to come out to protest in the cases of corruptions in Madhya Pradesh. Moreover, we have seen that the issues of corruptions at higher places have been high jacked by the Political Parties, leaving a very small space for AAP to work on this.
This incident has spread a degree of fear among the RTI workers and activists of the State that the -power- be in the State are strong enough to limit the scope of the usage on information gathered under RTI Act. The local Political environment is not supportive to agitate the minds of the youths to come out to protest in the cases of corruptions in Madhya Pradesh. Moreover, we have seen that the issues of corruptions at higher places have been high jacked by the Political Parties, leaving a very small space for AAP to work on this.
It now depends on the local leadership to chalk out the
strategy which may focus on issues of “silencing of the RTI Activist”,
corruption in the bureaucracy and the reasons for this and make the spread of
AAP reach the doorsteps of the common man. The Team at the district level is
yet to make active efforts to constitute Mohalla, Village/ward level committees
who shall remain close to the common p[people and identify the issues troubling
them. They will have to enroll a very large numbers of youth who want to bring
some change in the society. Train them and support them with a Team of Legal experts.
Design and publish IEC Information on the local issues and in local languages.
The time is running out for AAP in M.P. They have to start
early and swiftly then only there may be some notable impact on the overall
Political environment in Madhya Pradesh.
Tag arvind
kejriwal, shahla masood, aam admi party,
AAP,
