New Delhi. Aam Aadmi Party’s national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that his aim is not limited to any party or personal career, but his aim is to work for the country. During a conversation in a TV programme, Kejriwal, while mentioning his political and social journey, said that he does not work thinking what will happen to the Aam Aadmi Party in the future. According to him, instead of giving priority to his career and personal future, he chose the path of public life and working among the people.
Kejriwal said that he left his job as Joint Commissioner in the Income Tax Department and after that started working among the people in slums. He claimed that he lived in the slums for about 10 years and spent time understanding the problems of the people living there and working on their issues. His same statement has also been mentioned in a recently published report.
Kejriwal said that people remember many things about his political life. People remember that Anna movement took place and after that he became the Chief Minister of Delhi. He also remembers that he was Chief Minister several times, but the work done in the initial years of his public life is less discussed.
He said, “Everyone remembers that Kejriwal had become the Chief Minister. There was Anna movement and after that I became the Chief Minister. Everyone knows that I was the Chief Minister two-three times. But no one knows the time that I worked inside the slums for 10 years.”
In his statement, Kejriwal distinguished between personal ambition and political objective and said that his objective was not to achieve any position for himself. He said that since the beginning his ambition has been to work on issues related to the country. He also said that he does not look at his politics from the perspective of any one post or the future of the party.
Referring to his past administrative career, the former Chief Minister said that if he only had to secure his future, he would not have taken the decision to leave government service. He said that after leaving the job of Income Tax Department, he chose to work in such areas where people had to face many social and economic problems.
Kejriwal also said that before coming into politics, his identity was created through social movements and works related to public interest. According to him, the decision to form a political party was also not part of the pre-planned plan. Referring to the Lokpal movement, he said that if the Lokpal law had been made as per their demands at that time, then perhaps there would have been no need to form a political party. His claim is also mentioned in the published report related to this interview.
In his address, Kejriwal emphasized that he does not take decisions based on personal concerns regarding the future of the Aam Aadmi Party. He said that political organization is not a goal for him, but a medium to work on issues related to the country. However, this is his own political viewpoint and claim.
Aam Aadmi Party was founded after the anti-corruption movement and Kejriwal has been one of its prominent faces. After this he played an important role in Delhi politics for a long time and served several terms as Chief Minister. Even at present, he is active in political activities as the national convenor of Aam Aadmi Party.
During the program, Kejriwal said about his journey that behind the achievements visible in a person’s life, there is also work done over a long period of time. Referring to the time spent in the slums in his case, he said that very few people know about that period.
He said that while coming into public life, he did not take decisions regarding career and position. He claims that if his priority was only personal career, he would not have left the government job and gone to work in the social sector.
This statement of Kejriwal is also being seen in connection with his political journey and the future direction of the Aam Aadmi Party. He made it clear that in his view, the future of any political party is not a bigger issue than personal objectives and he talks about giving priority to the questions related to the country.
Through his statement, the former Chief Minister tried to explain the connection between his early social work and his later entry into politics. He said that becoming Chief Minister or reaching any political post has been only a part of his journey, whereas before that he worked at the grassroots level for years.
Kejriwal reiterated that his personal ambition has not been to promote himself. He says that the center of his politics and public life has been the issues of the country and the people. After his statement, political discussion may once again intensify regarding his journey from social work to politics and the future strategy of Aam Aadmi Party.
