What Arvind Kejriwal's sorry means for AAP's political future: Twitter reactions
Just days after promising to not apologise to the BJP and finance minister, Arun Jaitley, who, according to Arvind Kejriwal, had been begging for an apology, the Delhi chief minister has gone ahead and done just that. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener has offered a "sincere apology" to Jaitley while accepting that the allegations of graft he made against the latter were "unfounded".
BJP almost begging me for an apology. Sorry. I won't oblige them. Let Jaitley ji be cross-examined in defamation cases. Let truth prevail
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) December 28, 2015
Joining Kejriwal in the apology were three of his party colleagues - Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Ashutosh.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leaders Sanjay Singh,Ashutosh and Raghav Chadha apologize to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the defamation case he had filed against them pic.twitter.com/CJFqxVD738
— ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2018
The sorry offered on April 2 takes Kejriwal's public apologies' count to four.
In March, Kejriwal offered three such apologies to come out of the legal morass of more than 30 defamation cases.
Kejriwal started his sorry series with Punjab ex-minister Bikram Majithia. Then he apologised to Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Congress leader Kapil Sibal's son Amit Sibal.
While Jaitley has accepted Kejriwal's sorry and together the two leaders have moved a joint plea before a Delhi court seeking to settle the criminal defamation case, this may only increase AAP's already mounting political problems, which continues to be a fragmented house.
BJP, on its part, used the occasion to discredit AAP.
These apology letters by @ArvindKejriwal and AAP leaders is a proof that the entire party is based only on lies and they change their stand as per their convenience. No one has cheated Delhi like AAP. https://t.co/V2YKIHrKS0
— BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) April 2, 2018
Ek ओर माफीनामा !! केजरीवाल जी के किसी भी बयान को गंभीरता से नहीं लेगी दिल्ली अब ! NonTrust worthy @AamAadmiParty https://t.co/jdVAumSsGI
— Manoj Tiwari (@ManojTiwariMP) April 2, 2018
Party sources have said that Kejriwal has been forced to apologise to people to end the litany of defamation cases filed against him in various courts. Many have bought that argument.
He apologised so that he need NOT waste time paying crooks for laws which should have been made@obsolete by now. No developed country has retained the defamation law! Would expect a journo like you to know that before passing such comments.
— Gansta Cauliflowerputri (@Sun_e_strokes) April 2, 2018
Ram Ram Kirti: You Are Right. But @ArvindKejriwal Too Is Right Keeping The Delhi Scenario In Mind. He Has Been Struggling Heavy Odds Due To A Ever Interfering @LtGovDelhi. His Decision Is Tactical Not Out Of Cowardice. Good Day.
— #saveindianwomen (@DrKSBhardwaj2) April 2, 2018
If this indeed was a strategy finalised within the party then what was the need for him to say he wouldn't apologise to Jaitley. This question can best be answered by Kejriwal. He can even leave it unanswered because with his credibility now so badly compromised what he says on the issue may not really matter to most.
However, criticism against Kejriwal is growing and so is the humour around his apologies that follow serious graft allegations. The problem with this humour is that it undermines Kejriwal as a leader who means business and strengthens his critics who maintain that his only contribution in politics was creating nuisance.
My name is Arvind, not Raghuram; and I do what I do. Apologise!
— Ramesh Menon (@rameshmenon_) April 2, 2018
Would it be an exaggeration to say that Arvind Kejriwal has now become an apology of his own caricature? ????
— Sanjiv Bhatt (IPS) (@sanjivbhatt) April 2, 2018
Once In For All. The Big Arvind Kejriwal Apology???????????? pic.twitter.com/8VPUlYIj7k
— Mixed Raita (@MixedRaita) April 2, 2018
Whatsapp status of Arvind Kejriwal :-Can't talk , apologize only .#ArvindKejriwal #KejriwalApology
— ओ भाई , आवाज़ नीचे ! (@Awaaz_nichey) April 2, 2018
Some have even called him a coward for not sticking to his stand.
. @ArvindKejriwal is a coward. I stand by my word that #400Cr #Fraud took place during @arunjaitley 's Stewardship. #SFIOReport, #ForensicAudic by #HC appointed Administrator & #CBINotice to #DDCAOfficials point to that. #BakreKiMaaKabTakKharManaegi @aajtak @IndiaToday @CNNnews18 https://t.co/IyBPh3ll88
— Kirti Azad (@KirtiAzadMP) April 2, 2018
In 2014, Kejriwal apologised to Delhi for the "mistake" of quitting abruptly as chief minister. The genuineness of that sorry appealed to the masses enough to give his party a clear mandate of 67 out of 70 Assembly seats in 2015.
But now people seem to feel that Kejriwal has made a joke out of apologies. He rode on the anti-corruption bandwagon. He is now on an apology spree accepting that allegations made by him were unsubstantiated. This is politically suicidal for it raises questions over AAP as a viable political alternative to the BJP and Congress, something it always envisioned to do and made people believe it could.
FM Arun Jaitley the latest to accept @ArvindKejriwal's apology. Dozens more apologies in pipeline as Kejriwal implies you can brazenly defame, apologise & get away. Appalling example being set by defamer & defamee
— Minhaz Merchant (@MinhazMerchant) April 2, 2018
Perhaps, the party could have survived a fund crunch but losing credibility by accepting that the cause (read corruption) it fought against does not exist is political hara-kiri, one in which the party will also lose its honour.
Those who believed Kerjwal's allegations are asking what about the money spent on the cases so far, and what about the time AAP spent fighting these cases, this time could have well been used to govern Delhi.
And voices against the "say sorry, get done" politics are not just rising from outside the party, but also from within. The apology to Majithia created a crisis within the Punjab unit of the party with president and co-president Bhagwant Mann and Aman Arora resigning from their posts.
Kumar Vishwas too questioned the move.
In Punjab, lakhs of pamphlets were distributed against Majithia and then you (Arvind Kejriwal) suddenly apologised. Arun Jaitley will accept your apology but what about the party workers against whom cases are registered: Kumar Vishwas pic.twitter.com/cirSbG9xjb
— ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2018
Efforts to correct wrongs sometimes can go horribly wrong. Kejriwal doesn't seem to realise this. It is difficult to imagine what he is going to offer the voters of Delhi for his political turns and u-turns, allegations and apologies. A sorry sure won't work.