13 doctors vs 52 criminals – Kejriwal’s ‘politics with a difference’

Remember Arvind Kejriwal’s  ‘promising entry’ in politics? He repetitively claimed on various occasions with his tagline for his party AAP, “Hum rajneeti karne nahi rajneeti badalne aaye hein.” Well, he has undoubtedly changed the scenario of politics. You might be thinking, how?

While there are many reasons, the primary one is the list of AAP’s MLAs in Punjab Assembly. It’s a lovely list of 13 doctors and 52 criminals out of the 92 AAP MLAs in the 117-member Assembly, clearly showing Kejriwal’s ‘politics with a difference’. There is no doubt that AAP enjoys a brute majority in the state and 13 doctors from the party have made it to the state assembly but what needs more attention is that 52 of  (57 per cent) of its winning candidates are facing criminal charges.

10 out of 13 doctors in Punjab Assembly are from AAP

In what can be seen as  a seemingly positive news for Punjab’s health system, 13 doctors have made it to the state assembly this election. While 10 out of these are from the Aam Aadmi Party, the other three elected MLAs are  from  Congress, SAD and BSP respectively.”

46-year-old Baljit Kaur, an eye surgeon,  commented, “I feel the way AAP worked in Delhi in various sectors, particularly health, developed confidence among doctors, who were excited and wanted this (Delhi) system in Punjab too. We felt if we have the proper infrastructure in Punjab, we can deliver better. I was working as a government employee and witnessed the shortcomings there, which we will rectify now.”

This development of qualified medicos making their mark in the political field is being termed as “sign of positive change” by many. As per the AAP MLAs, “The health infrastructure of Punjab is set to get a significant boost given AAP’s track record in the national capital, where the party is credited with starting many public health initiatives like mohalla clinics.”

Read more: “Hum Rajneeti badalne aaye hain” Indeed!, AAP’s lovely list of crime tainted Candidates

It is pertinent to note that Eye surgeon Charanjit Singh is one of the winning AAP MLAs who defeated the outgoing chief minister and three-time MLA Charanjit Singh Channi from Chamkaur Sahib seat. Channi had defeated him in the 2017 polls by over 12,000 votes.

AAP’s Vijay Singla (52), a dentist, defeated famous Punjabi singer and Congress candidate from Mansa, Shubhdeep Singh aka  Sidhu Moosewala, by 63,323 votes.

The doctors from the AAP are of the view that “The people of Punjab have voted for change and entrusted them with a big responsibility.” They further added that “transforming the health and education sectors of the northern state will be among their priorities.”

52 Criminals vs 10 Doctors

Reportedly, 52 (57 per cent) of AAP’s winning candidates are facing criminal charges. As per the Association for Democratic Reforms, the number of MLAs with criminal cases has increased to 58 out of 117 this year. There were 16 MLAs facing criminal charges in 2017.

Three from the Congress, two from Shiromani Akali Dal, and one (50 per cent) out of two winning candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party are found to have criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

AAM Aadmi Party (AAP) claims to be clean and honest. It claims that the voters of Punjab desire for change from the corrupt regime of the previous governments and thus they have emerged victorious.

Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, an AAP MLA from Ajnala constituency of Amritsar district, has been charged with murder. He was charged under Section 302 of the IPC for killing Democratic Party of India worker, Buddh Singh during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The other two winning candidates who are accused under IPC section 307 are MLAs Sheetal Angural, of the Jalandhar West constituency, and Daljit Singh Grewal, of the Ludhiana East constituency, who has three cases against him.

In addition to Grewal, Manjinder Singh Lalpura, an AAP legislator from the Khadur Sahib constituency, also faces two charges for assaulting a woman. A total of five cases have been brought against Lalpura, including five serious IPC charges and 18 others. The list of such MLAs includes many other names. However, the AAP’s attempt to balance the algorithm seemingly is a waste as nothing can justify the induction of criminals in state assembly.