Sheila Dikshit, veteran Chief Minister of Delhi, is capable of taking a few hits. Her political advisor, Pawan Kher has written to Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) asking him for a few illuminating lessons on Delhi’s “dignified culture”. Though an educated man, Kejriwal has set off a few salvoes against Dikshit, a lady if there is one and showing disrespect for women in general. The controversy is supremely indifferent to the hurly-burly of politics which leads to stinging trading of allegations. The AAP leader has not done justice to Delhi’s culture.
Kher has criticized the AAP’s auto-rickshaw campaign. The Delhi government has banned displaying of posters on the auto-rickshaws which has aggravated the agitation. The posters blame the government for deepening corruption and rising power-tariff. Some of the attacks on Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit are of a personal nature and are in singularly bad taste. Dikshit belongs to an established national party and has been elected to her high office three times in succession. Her reputation as a politician and administrator will hardly be impaired by Kejriwal’s impolite attacks. On the other hand, Kejriwal needs to consolidate his position significantly before the Delhi Assembly polls this year. The AAP has yet to find an articulate voice with a political agenda. It has to be admitted however that mud-slinging has become endemic to Indian politics in many states. Of course, Dikshit is not so sensitive as Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal and is not likely to handle criticism in a high-handed manner as Banerjee did over a cartoon issue.
