Why Arvind Kejriwal should worry about governing Delhi and not Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may not be a forgiving man. But physical violence and coercion ? Isn't that a bit over the top?

Two things have happened this week: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced he will travel to Rome to attend the ceremony granting sainthood to  Mother Teresa; and has declared that he is afraid that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may hatch a plot to kill him.
 

Really ?

Kejriwal’s lack of trust in colleagues and associates is the worst kept secret in political circles. Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav and Anand Kumar are testimony to this. This is not the first time he has charged that the PM may be conspiring to kill him.

It is often said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not a forgiving man. If you’re not with him, you’re against him. But physical violence and coercion ? Isn’t that a bit over the top?
 

Delhi is reeling under the twin assaults of waterlogging of roads and an auto strike – and while you could argue that it is the responsibility of agencies that do not answer to the state government, we see no evidence that the state government is engaging in any kind of dialogue with local bodies on what their problems are, forming mohalla committees and reaching out to people in colonies where rainwater has collected. Dengue and viral fever are breaking out: health is very much the state government’s responsibility. What has it done to activate clinics, testing of blood, etc ?

For the last two days, autorickshaws and cabs in the capital have been on strike protesting against aggregators such as Uber and Ola. As is well known, autorickshaw drivers have been a big vote bank of Kejriwal because of his drive against police corruption. But if there is any effort to negotiate this strike, no one knows much about it. You only have to see the teeming crowds on metro station platforms and buses to understand the damp, humid, sweaty misery that commuters in Delhi are facing.
 

Meanwhile Mr Kejriwal is packing his bags to go to Rome – and is saying the PM should be locked up before he kills the Delhi Chief Minister and his colleagues. Presumably he thinks this will bring people out on the streets for another round of agitation.
 

And Delhi sweats and shivers: if not from the humidity then from fever.