When Arvind Kejriwal led AAP won the 2020 Delhi assembly election with an overwhelming majority, the liberals and leftist celebrated it as defeat of BJP’s Hindu nationalist agenda, and some of them even hailed the AAP leader as counter to Modi-Shah duo. As the BJP leaders campaigned majorly on Hindutva, the defeat was projected as the defeat of Hindutva agenda.
However, since Kejriwal has taken oath for the third term, his politics has moved rightwards. After winning the election, none of the AAP’s leaders visited Shaheen Bagh, despite the fact that Muslims voted for the party is large numbers. Even the leaders like Manish Sisodia, who expressed sympathy towards the protest, have not paid visit to the protest site so far.
In fact, Kejriwal has said that the Amit Shah controlled Delhi Police should take steps to vacate the public road. Moreover, Kejriwal has not picked a side or blamed any particular community for the Delhi riots, unlike his liberal counterparts, who blamed the BJP and Hindus for whole episode.
On Delhi riots, Kejriwal did not question Delhi Police over handling of the riots, despite repeated calls by liberals to speak up. However, the support of the liberal brigade was mere political expediency and convenience for Kejriwal and AAP. Now, Kejriwal has mercilessly blocked all such Twitter users who were being critical of him. Swara Bhasker, Abhisar Sharma and RJ Sayema- all of them have been blocked by the Delhi Chief Minister.
Arvind Kejriwal, AAP (ArvindKejriwal) no longer follows @ReallySwara @TheDeshBhakt (It's possible an account was suspended, deleted, or blocked.)
— India Political Watch Bot (@IndiaWatchBot) February 24, 2020
Moreover, Kejriwal announced compensation of 1 crore rupees to the family of IB officer Ankit Sharma while 10 lakh to the victims of deceased in the riots. As more than 60 percent of those killed in riots are Muslims, the liberals questioned why the Delhi government has announced one tenth compensation to the kin of those killed in riots.
Apart from that, the AAP government has also given nod to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar in the February 2016 sedition case.
Till now, the elitist gang was banking upon Kejriwal to shield Kanhaiya Kumar. But Kejriwal whose own bluff has been called out is no longer able to shield Kanhaiya Kumar. This is why he has deserted Kanhaiya Kumar and by extension the entire left-liberal cabal. And the entire left-liberal cabal comprising of politicians, journalists and Bollywood actors is now fuming about it.
It has been almost 2 weeks since the new Kejriwal government came to power, and in this small period, he has taken many decisions which position the party as radical centre or centre right. And he has become the new punching bag for left-liberals, who feel betrayed after their die hard support for AAP in 2020 assembly election.
Zainab Sikander, a columnist at ThePrint wrote an article titled “Kejriwal is not BJP’s alternative in Delhi. He has let Muslims down who voted AAP en masse” and criticized the leader for inaction during Delhi riots.
In fact, Kejriwal’s rightward turn was the talking point at ThePrint, the news portal which identifies itself as ‘liberal’ and it was titled: Delhi riot, Kanhaiya: Is Kejriwal turning majoritarian after polls or being opportunistic? Former AAP member Ashutosh said in the talking point that, “He (Kejriwal) is not the Arvind Kejriwal we all knew. He is now a politician for whom votes matter more than human lives.”
Kejriwal has simply deserted the liberals and their anti-CAA lobby. Signs were clear even before the Delhi Assembly polls when Kejriwal had recited the Hanuman Chalisa during a television interview. This was in response to a question over whether he visited Hanuman temples or not.
The left-liberal intellectual establishment is completely rattled by Kejriwal’s desertion. These people see it as treachery and backstabbing and are now vehemently criticizing the leader who was the last ray of hope for them. This is by far the biggest casualty for the liberal brigade. They had created an icon for themselves in the form of Kejriwal whom they wanted to pitch against PM Modi and someone who furthers their narrative of “saffron terrorism”, but the Delhi CM has given them a cold shoulder when they were desperate for his support.