Lies, Damned Lies and Elections

  • Ankur Mithal
  • India
  • Feb 13, 2015

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of resorting to funding through illegal means. In turn, AAP accused the BJP of irresponsible behaviour, by taking credit for things that they had nothing to do with - like the reduction in fuel prices. The BJP accused AAP of behaving irresponsibly while in government…AAP accused Congress of failing to protect the honour and dignity of women when in power…in turn Congress teased BJP of having inadequate political strength in the State, as they had to parachute a Chief Ministerial candidate from outside the Party. Both then accused AAP of diversionary tactics as they had no substance…and both accused the BJP of not getting back the black money from abroad, as per their promise during the national election. The BJP accused Kejriwal and his entire sub-caste of being anarchists…and Kejriwal retaliated that BJP was unfairly tarnishing the image of a peaceable and industrious community. BJP accused AAP of making false promises and misleading people…and AAP accused BJP of tampering with voting machines…and both accused the Congress of mismanagement of local affairs during its long reign. Both (now Congress and AAP) accused the BJP leader, also the country’s Prime Minister, of wearing expensive foreign clothes Made in UK, despite his Make in India call to the nation and the world…who accused them right back of wearing expensive foreign clothes themselves and, to add insult to injury, expensive shoes as well. Both also accused BJP of treating the Northeastern people as immigrants and, further, not being able to distinguish between Nagaland and Mizoram. BJP retaliated and accused AAP of trying to stay in the limelight through dubious means, and misleading and being negative as per its old habit. AAP accused BJP’s CM candidate of sourcing funds from abroad for her NGO, without revealing the source…BJP accused the Congress of taking the people for granted during their years in power… AAP accused BJP of portraying Mahapurush Anna Hazare as deceased…BJP accused AAP of immaturity, by politicising a routine political insult and failing to understand the metaphor…Both accused BJP of being in cahoots with industrialists, particularly the ones whose surnames end with ‘ni’…BJP accused both of being anti-development…Congress accused AAP of forming a united front with BJP, to help it wipe out its (Congress’, of course) ideology…Congress accused BJP of hiding the reasons why their CM candidate was removed as DIG of Mizoram, then Goa and then Chandigarh…BJP accused AAP of wasting public money by not joining forces with it without preconditions after the last elections, leading to re-elections within a year…Congress accused BJP of being inconsistent and issuing an advertisement that does not (also) mock AAP…BJP accused independent survey agencies of being motivated by narrow commercial interests, especially if their results predicted a loss for BJP…

Whew! Politics does this to you. Enables you to overcome your self-defined limits and to reach beyond. To boldly go where you have not been before. I hope by now you are pretty clear what each Party stood for and what their strengths were (though too bad your candidate lost). We will now need something strong to replace this excitement. Meanwhile, my teenage son, who has just been through his Student Body elections at school, and simultaneously watched the daily election fever with me, seems to have an unasked question on his lips, “But why does our school tell us that we cannot malign other candidates?”

Read More...


  • print
  • comnt
  • share

News from Communities

lowadd
  • Friday Gurgaon Seminar

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2014/8/2014_8$thumbimg129_Aug_2014_160822730.jpgOrange Fish
  • Gurgaon Speaks Up-Rest in Peace ''Damini''-Saturday Dec 29 @ Leisure Valley

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2013/1/2013_1$thumbimg104_Jan_2013_143656130.jpgOrange Fish
  • Genesis Foundation Fund Raiser

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/8/2012_8$thumbimg114_Aug_2012_091411630.jpgOrange Fish
  • Coca Cola Cricket trophy played in Gurgaon

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/3/2012_3$thumbimg117_Mar_2012_180857977.jpgOrange Fish
  • Union Budget 2012

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/3/2012_3$thumbimg116_Mar_2012_123404760.jpgOrange Fish
  • Union Budget 2012

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/3/2012_3$thumbimg116_Mar_2012_122004320.jpgOrange Fish
  • Renge Art Walk

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/3/2012_3$thumbimg102_Mar_2012_095312690.jpgOrange Fish
  • Friday Gurgaon Cricket team

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/2/2012_2$thumbimg119_Feb_2012_195202840.jpgOrange Fish
  • Genesis Fundraiser Gurgaon

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/1/2012_1$thumbimg129_Jan_2012_072409630.jpgOrange Fish
  • Gurgaon

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/1/2012_1$thumbimg102_Jan_2012_165747220.jpgOrange Fish

Latest Issue

Poll

Do you think government should reconsider its policy of promoting liquor vends in Gurgaon?



votebox View Results