Delhi - India's true Belly

My admiration for the people of Delhi has grown leaps and bounds. Last year; the people showed Congress the door and were split near 50:50 in deciding if  BJP or AAP should rule the State. Having given BJP a near absolute mandate in the National elections last year, the BJP took the people's mood for granted. I don't think the people liked being taken for granted; and in the bargain discharged the Congress completely like gas after a long and heavy meal (never mind the orifice); and gave the BJP a "Delhi Belly" that would keep a lot of the party members glued to their white bathroom thrones for a while. On the other hand, the efforts put in by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) man and machinery to convince the voter of the sincerity to make amends earned it a near 100% mandate in the current State Elections. AAP's victory has opened up a can of worms for the BJP in other States as well. For one, its aggrieved partner went vocal in Maharashtra in celebrating the defeat causing much embarrassment for the BJP top Brass. As per the press, the old BJP guard is chuckling as well - just short of openly celebrating the event. Yes "Shit Happens" 

A day after the victory, the news channels are making it sound like Kejriwal has just won the Prime Minister's post and papers have allocated close to 50% or more of it's 4th estate in slicing and dicing the event and some personalities as well.
The media is suggesting that AAP will in time emerge as the new secular alternative in place of the Congress; forgetting that Congress is actually the cause of fragmenting this nation's electorate to create non secular vote banks. The Indian electorate is changing. No longer is it willing to vote as per the whims of a relreligious head or head of any caste or creed. The voter now is deciding based on service that can be expected from a Party, and if there is no delivery; the mood is neither of tolerance nor patience. Modi and his men needed this shake up and wake up call; and while AAP has humbled the present Titan it is far from filling the void that the Congress has left in terms of a serious opponent at a national level. Kejriwal has every reason to be scared as he says he is with the results. There is a lot of work to be done for AAP to achieve its      

CHARTER FOR CHANGE

and no one around in the State Assembly on who the blame can be pinned for any failure. The 15 Key points in its 70 point action plan:





1 DELHI JANLOKPAL BILL: Resolved to bring Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill on coming to power. Delhi Lokpal will have the power to investigate and prosecute those charged with corruption. This is one thing that has been debated and well thought through. But in general public officials are known to be "birds of a feather that flock together". What if a section of or entire civil service go into defiance mode (with covert support of those wanting to defeat this initiative) at one of theirs being prosecuted? 2 SWARAJ BILL: AAP will also bring the Swaraj Bill to devolve powers to the people. Decisions affecting the local community will be taken by citizens and implemented by their secretariat. This is akin to creating a "Panchayat Raj" within the various provinces of Delhi. Actually a great idea as long as the people don't get incited on communal or caste lines. Matters can go very awry very fast in a City State of hundreds of highly divided and highly emotional communities. 
3 FULL STATEHOOD FOR DELHI: AAP will push for full statehood for Delhi. This will make bodies like DDA, MCD & Delhi Police accountable to the elected Delhi government. Question to ask is will Haryana and UP cede territories falling under the National Capital Region to go under full control of Delhi State Government? If not, then statehood would be restrict to Delhi as per its existing City boundary. It will certainly be good for the people even if that happens. 
4 ELECTRICITY BILLS TO BE CUT BY HALF: AAP will ask CAG to do an audit of discoms, and convinced that they are fattening the costs, AAP will reduce electricity bills by half. This initiative had a national impact last year in AAP's 49 day rule where all electricity providers went on their back foot. Yes should be done, but what about solving electricity theft? Close to 50% of electricity is stolen and the honest consumer billed for the same. Would AAP be able to curb this problem as most of the theft is attributed to those very people who have voted for AAP or to people in position of high power. 
5 DISCOM PORTABILITY: AAP has promised to provide consumers the right to choose between electricity providers.This, they say, will create competition, leading to better services and lower tariffs. Should be done ahead of 4. 
6 DELHI TO BE MADE A SOLAR CITY: AAP will facilitate a phased shift to renewable and alternate sources of energy. Yes of course, but where will the solar farms come up and who will invest based on the tariff structure being proposed by AAP? 
7 WATER AS A RIGHT: AAP will provide universal access to clean drinking water at an affordable price. This, they say, is every citizen's right. Utopian thought as where will this water come from? 
8 FREE WATER: AAP to give free `lifeline' water of up to 20 kilolitres (20,000 litres) per month to every household. But once consumption exceeds 20 kilolitres, full amount to be charged. Annual 10% tariff hike will be abolished & hikes will be after due consideration. I am ready to shift to Delhi; but again, there is hardly any ground water left in Delhi and porting water from other States (most controlled by the BJP) is quite honestly a "pipe dream" for now. 
9 REVIVING YAMUNA: Will ensure 100% collection and treatment of Delhi's sewage through an extensive sewer network and construction of new functional sewage treatment plants. The State is nearly bankrupt and points 5 to 8 will further pressure the finances; so where will the investment come from? Assume it will, how will AAP tackle the industrial polluters? 
10 PUBLIC LOOS: AAP will build 1.5 lakh toilets in slums across the city and 50,000 toilets in public spaces.Of them, 1 lakh toilets will be for women. AAP should draw funds from the "Swaatch Bharat Abhiyan" from the Center from the for this purpose as their are funds earmarked just for it. 
11 NEW SCHOOLS: AAP will build 500 new schools with a special focus on secondary and senior secondary schools to ensure that every Delhi child has easy access to quality education.AAP should draw funds from the "Beti Bachao - Beti Padhao" initiative from the Center for this purpose as their are funds earmarked just for it. 
The PM and his Party's sincerity will become obvious if points 10 and 11 are implemented with "brownie" points to both BJP and AAP.  
12 NEW COLLEGES: AAP will open 20 new colleges under Delhi administration on the outskirts of the city in partnership with the villages of Delhi. Unlike Schools, higher education is a different matter and those willing to invest may have a different plan in mind - unless AAP can behave like TDP and give away valuable free land to foreign charitable institutions. 
13 REGULATE FEES: AAP to regulate private school fees by publishing the fee structures & accounts online. Capitation fee will be abolished. Good for education but capitation fee will reinvent itself under a new format partly to pay the expectation of quality "Pedagogs" that don't come cheap anymore. 
14 E-GOVERNANCE: All govt services & forms to be available online & on cellphone. Data on govt projects, progress, accounts & personnel will be posted online. This is fine and should be done; but can AAP simply procedures that makes the necessity of dealing with touts unnecessary? The Mumbai RTO experience should be studied by AAP for this purpose. 
15 SMART DELHI: AAP promised free Wi-Fi in city. It will also install 10,000 CCTVs in DTC buses, bus stands and in crowded places as a deterrent against crime. Mumbai too has gone through this process post 26/11; but how much of this infrastructure is functional is anyone's guess. 

I am not being negative. Where there is a will there is a way and AAP will have to find that way. Success means winning the Mumbai Municipal Elections in 2017 as also such elections in governing the 6 key Metro Cities of India other than the National Capital and at least 15+ State Capitals. The consequences of victory there - impact obvious.