Delhi Chief Minister’s Lust for Luxury is unacceptable
In the initial days, without any false show and pomp, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his MLAs were often seen even commuting by ordinary auto rickshaws and mixing with every poor person on the street. This further helped the party win the hearts of the underprivileged in the capital city, besides other top intellectuals in the country. But, a few years down the line, the thing has seemingly turned topsy-turvy.
The blatant corruption and ostentation in the party have seen many of its MLAs behind bars while others left the party in frustration. The party has time and again been heavily criticized for collecting donations from abroad NGOs and people whose credentials are doubtful. It is often reported that AAP works hand-in-glove with certain forces involved in treasonable activities only to remain in power.
While the arrest of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on charges of corruption in an alleged liquor scam tarnished the party’s image, the recent news of the extravagant renovation of the Chief Minister’s House left many dumbfounded. Brought forth first by Times Now Navbharat, a popular news media, the Delhi Chief Minister has allegedly spent close to 45 crores in refurbishing his official residence at Civil Lines in New Delhi. This is unacceptable to the general masses.
What is most unbecoming is that all these extravagant ideas occurred to the CM’s mind when the capital city was “seriously plagued” by COVID-19.
A senior government employee from Delhi laments on social media: “This is how some of our leaders shamelessly luxuriate in the taxpayer’s hard-earned money and cheat the gullible public. This episode has hurt Anna Hazare and his followers more than any other.” One wonders why the party that promised to root out corruption and uplift the underprivileged so quickly deviated to embrace the life of luxury and opulence. Some of our leaders may fool people with their rhetoric and continue refurbishing their houses and what have they, but will they ever be able to “refurbish” their guilt-filled hearts? No, not at all. The laws of karma will cut them down to size at the end of the day. Moreover, luxury is inherently illusive; it only corrupts one’s inner self. Needless to say, the lust for affluence does not guarantee true peace of mind, while integrity in action and service always ensure both peace and bliss here and hereafter.
Salil Gewali
A Shillong-based writer and
researcher Salil Gewali is a member of the International Organization of
Journalists (IOJ), and has written 17 books including school textbooks. His
books have also been recommended as textbooks by the Meghalaya Board of School Education
(MBOSE) besides the front-ranking private schools in the Northeast. Gewali is
best known for his excellent publication of his research-based work of over
twenty-four years entitled ‘Great Minds on India’. This book on Indian wisdom has
been edited by a former NASA scientist Dr. A V Murali, Houston, USA, and
translated into twelve languages including German.
Apart from being appreciated worldwide, ‘Great Minds on India’ was formally launched by the Governors and the Education Ministers of Maharashtra, Gujarat; Governors of Meghalaya and West Bengal and the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh.
Gewali’s ‘GREAT MINDS ON INDIA’ will be instrumental in raising the PRIDE and DIGNITY of the nation from a global perspective. It immensely contributes to create the right awareness about the “higher truths” about the literary wisdom and scientific knowledge of ancient India which never failed to mesmerize the top intellectuals of the WEST such as -- Voltaire, Fredrich Hegel, Arthur Schopenhauer, Ralph Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Albert Einstein, Julius Robert Oppenheimer (father of atomic bomb), Werner Heisenberg, Niels Bohr, Erwin Schrodinger, TS Eliot, Mark Twain, to name a few.