Mumbai: The problem with politicians is not that they try to be too clever by half: the annoying part is that they consider us all as half-witted morons.
It is apparent to even a street-corner political greenhorn that both Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi used Anna Hazare as a political springboard: they hopped on to the anti-corruption bandwagon like intrepid hitchhikers and hopped off like rank opportunists.
It is also obvious that the duo had no intention from the outset about shunning electoral politics. All that rhetoric was sheer humbug which the cynical masses, utterly disenchanted with the political class, lapped up with the frantic intensity of a man who has not eaten for days.
Rather, they allowed themselves to be co-opted without any qualms by the very political class with which they were so exasperated. Kejriwal did so at the drop of a hat, the instant the opportunity presented itself, but was astute enough to let it seem like a natural corollary of a movement that was losing steam.
Bedi, too, could have joined the Kejriwal bandwagon and lingered on in the Aam Aadmi Party — the then flavour of the season — but she obviously did not relish the idea of sharing political space with her former Team Anna colleague. More so, since Hazare was no longer there to act as a buffer between the two. Her voice would also have been lost in the AAP din, which by then had turned into a political cacophony.
An opportunity presented itself when Kejriwal asked her to take the mantle of chief ministership but she saw it as political manoeuvring by the former, who wanted more elbow room for himself. Both the leaders had no illusions: Bedi realised that they had no love lost for each other, and Kejriwal could fathom her BJP moorings. At some point they decided that pretensions were no basis for a relationship and decided to part ways but without bickering.
In a way, both have undermined the Anna Hazare movement and what he stood for. They have cheated not only Anna but also perpetrated a political fraud on the masses, which were momentarily taken in by their sincerity of purpose. Anti-corruption crusaders will not be taken seriously any longer. They have discredited an entire movement.
The only redeeming aspect is that Anna had the good sense to steer clear of electoral politics: if he wanted he could easily have become the political mascot of the Aam Aadmi Party, and even more. Bedi tried to wean him away but failed; Kejriwal did not try hard enough: the Gandhian was no longer relevant. R.I.P. Here lies a movement that was snuffed out by its very protagonists.
