There is no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it. If you are a fan of the India Against Corruption movement (IAC), you won’t like what I’m about to say. But regardless, I’m going to say it anyway, not because I do not support the IAC, but because I do. And because like many hard truths, some things just need to be said. Also, I’m probably going to swear. In fact, I’m raging at my monitor even as I write this. Ready for it? Here you go:

There is no way the IAC is going to succeed if it continues to do what it is doing. None. Nada.

A few weeks ago I commented on the Kejriwal/Hazare split and how it is not necessarily a bad thing and how “Mr. Kejriwal understands exactly what he’s getting into”. I also mentioned that one of things we need to do as a nation is to watch everything Mr. Kejriwal does very closely. Well, I have been doing exactly that and it seems that I was off. Waaay off. In fact, I’m beginning to think the man has no idea of what he’s doing at all.

I’ve been sitting on this post for a while, partly because I was on vacation. Partly because I was giving Mr. Kejriwal the benefit of doubt. But after today’s fiasco, I just cannot keep shut. If you are wondering what I’m talking about, here is the short version:

Digvijay Singh, the current General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee has written to Arvind Kejriwal asking him a list of rather embarrassing questions. You can find the list of questions here. The questions should be alarming enough, but what stupefies me is the official response which was this (I’m quoting directly from the IAC website here):

Is Digvijaya Singh trying to distract us?

Should we respond to these questions or should we carry on with our mission of nation building?

Answers to all the questions raised by Mr. Digvijaya Singh are already there with his government. All their agencies have been after us for the last two years. Answers to all his questions exist in his governments file. So should we respond to a person whom even the government does not take seriously? 

This is also shared on IAC’s official facebook page.

Wow. Really Mr. Kejriwal? REALLY?

Is this the best you can do? Instead of coming out and defending yourself, you make this a question for your awestruck fan club?

First of all, let’s just look at the questions themselves. Some of these are pretty damn worrying. That in and of itself is enough to justify answers. These are serious allegations that any sane man would run to at least verbally counter by way of a short public statement. And no, offhandedly dismissing them as the ravings of a madman does not count. The response is something that makes me wonder if the man even knows his right hand form his left.

Is Digvijaya Singh trying to distract us? Gee let me think. Is the government that you’re trying to bring down going to try and defend itself? Hmm, yeah that’s a tough one. Not obvious at all.

Should we respond to these questions or should we carry on with our mission of nation building? What nation building? WTF has the movement done to “build” anything? Can Mr. Kejriwal claim of gaining a single victory, however small?

Answers to all the questions raised by Mr. Digvijaya Singh are already there with his government. Maybe. BUT THEY ARE NOT WITH US YOU DAMNED IDIOTS! Don’t you think we deserve an answer?

So should we respond to a person whom even the government does not take seriously?  Sweet mother of … Of course you bloody should! This is a pathetic way of asking “Umm, guys? What do you think we should do? Coz I don’t have a fucking clue.”

“Digvijay’s letter to me does not merit a response. Congress seems to be completely rattled and baffled. That is apparent from Digvijay’s letter. Digvijay seems Congress’ last resort,” Mr. Kejriwal had said. Sorry but it’s not that simple. The government can just as easily turn around and say the same to you Mr. Kejriwal. How the hell are you any different? And you must be severely deluded to think this letter is the “Congress’ last resort”. Even a fool can see that the government has barely begun to take you seriously. When they turn up the heat, you will sure as hell feel it. Best brace yourself. The shit has not yet hit the fan.

I could go on and on but I’m just going to quote what I left in way of a comment on both the IAC website and their facebook page:

Are you seriously asking this question? Even if this is a distraction tactic, not giving answers will be a big mistake. There should not even be a discussion here. Of course you have to answer. Transparency is one of the things IAC harps about. Well, time to put your money where your mouth is. Post your answers for the world to see. If you do not, the media will have a field day and discredit EVERYTHING you do from this point on. IAC already has enough enemies; setting up further hurdles for yourself will just be stupid. Also, whoever is handling PR for you guys needs to be fired pronto. It’s almost like you don’t even WANT to win. If this is indeed the “final” war against corruption, why on earth would you take chances? This is not a bloody game. Your opponents will not play nice. For the sake of the nation, GET REAL.

I’m going to stop now lest I give myself an aneurism.

Look, I’m not claiming to be an expert of any sort, but if a person like me can see how ridiculous the actions of the IAC are , it should be pretty bleeding obvious to the man in charge of this little puppet show. I sincerely hope I am over reacting and that things aren’t as hopeless as they seem. But I must stress the fact that so far, Mr. Kejriwal has gone out of his way to prove me wrong.

Over the next few days, I’m going to endeavor to explain, in my very personal opinion, what exactly the IAC is missing and the things it needs to fix.

Stay tuned.