By having a discussion with a convict, Mr. Jaitley has degraded the office he holds

The Union Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information and Broadcasting Mr. Arun Jaitley met former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Ms. Jayalalithaa at her residence on Sunday.

The meeting, as stated in the statement released by the AIADMK, was a "courtesy" meeting but party sources said that the minister discussed about the bills the Union government was to introduce in the next session of the Parliament and that he sought Ms. Jayalalithaa's support to get the bills passed in the Rajya Sabha.

Enticing support in this manner by a senior minister like Mr. Jaitley would have been perfectly fine but for the fact that Ms. Jayalalithaa is currently a convict, that too in a serious case. She is neither a Chief Minister nor even an MLA. Following conviction, she was disqualified from being both, but despite that she continues to be, by virtue of sheer sycophancy, AIADMK's "Makkal Mudalvar." (People's CM)

Ms. Jayalalithaa's appeal over the disproportionate assets case in which she was convicted in September last year is pending before the Honourable High Court of Karnataka, and until the verdict comes in her favour she remains a convict. The Election Commission has also announced the by-election to the Srirangam constituency which now remains vacant following her disqualification.

At a time like this, was it right for a Union minister, that too a senior one, and of the stature like that of Mr. Jaitley, to visit her and solicit political support? Let alone soliciting support, was even a "courtesy" meeting, as the official party communiqué wants us to believe, proper?

Mr. Jaitley is a representative of the people, a senior minister in the Union cabinet, and a respectable voice in the BJP. He represents the Union government and his meeting a convict was grossly incorrect, exceedingly deplorable and was in complete violation of the basic principle of morality expected out of people holding high Constitutional offices.

The message that this meeting sends out is that the present government has no regard for the criminal justice system, and that it would go to any extreme extent to have its way through.

On one hand the BJP says that it will fight corruption, and on the other it seeks support from a person who has been convicted for having possession of crores of ill-gotten money. What hypocrisy! 

Mr. Jaitley must answer to the people of this country whether by meeting a convict has he not degraded the sanctity of the office which he holds, insulted the polity where judicial pronouncements are honoured, and brought shame to his fellow Parliamentarians.

Five things Dr. Kiran Bedi can teach politics and politicians

India's first woman IPS officer, social activist, and anti-corruption crusader Dr. Kiran Bedi joined the BJP on Thursday. Though she had long maintained that she would not enter electoral politics, she changed her mind, attributing it to Mr. Modi's visionary and inspiring leadership.

I have had the opportunity to work closely with her for about 6 months, and I had always wished that she too had entered politics like how Mr. Arvind Kejriwal and few more of the erstwhile Team Anna had. I am glad that she now has.

Dr. Bedi is a person full of energy and there is a lot that she can give to Indian politics. In my personal experience with her for a very short time, I feel these are five traits that Kiran Bedi the person can offer to India's politicians and politics.

Swift responsiveness
The day I mailed her for the first time, asking her if I could join her in the service she was doing to the society, I got her reply asking me to meet her at her office in just three minutes! This quality of swift responsiveness is what many people holding offices lack. If a politician could do this, notwithstanding whether the reply is positive or negative, the faith of people in their representatives would exponentially increase.

Pay for the work you get
The day I met her, and after asking about me, she told me that I could join her work. The first thing that she wanted to know was how I was maintaining my expenses in Delhi. When I told her that I relied on my parents, she said that she would pay me. I had gone to her for social service and I did not want to take money for what I was going to do, but she insisted. Her point was that I was 21 and that I should not depend on my parents for money anymore. There are many young people who want to join politics but doesn't do so because there is no income from it, unless you get elected. Politics, therefore, fails to tap the youth's energy.

Sense of justice
While I was working under her, I had volunteered to teach two kids of Dr. Bedi's house help. It so happened that when they were continuously not completing the work that I was asking them to do, I got angry with them. One of them started crying and the matter reached her ears. When I told her what had happened, she told me that the kids were used to being let free and that they would take time to get used to being made to study. I was amazed by the way in which she explained these things to me. She could have just told me don't get angry on them and continued her work. But this was not all. She made sure that she heard the kid's side too. She called the kid and heard her fully and in front of her told me not to get angry and patted on the kid's back. From the next day both kids started completing their works. But for her intervention the kids and I would not have met for studies again. In politics perception matters, though justice is being done, both parties must be made to believe that what was being done was after hearing both sides. A small attempt like what Dr. Bedi had done at the stated instance can change the scene.

Prevent, not punish
This is something that Dr. Bedi tells in most of her speeches when she talks about policing. This which she had practiced through the years of her policing career she does in day-to-day life too. Few employees working for her NGO had made a complaint to her regarding their colleague. I was sitting right next to her table when this was happening, and I was expecting a huge outburst of anger from her when the person would be summoned. To my surprise, she asked all of them to take leave and called the person in question, and politely explained to him what the issue was and how he should not be doing it thence. For the days that I had remained in her office, never again did I hear any of them complaining about the person.

Positivism
Dr. Bedi exudes positive energy where ever she goes and is always at work. Never can one get to see her pessimistic or thinking negative about some thing. When I had completed my short stint under her, I had failed to stay in touch with her. After long when I telephoned her and asked her if she was angry with me, she replied: "Where is the time to get angry? There is so much to do." Even when Mr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi made a comment about her, her reply was: "People will tell many things. I do not have time to reply to each of them, I am on a mission." This explains Kiran Bedi the person. Perhaps, politics is one field which is filled with negativism and slander. A politician like her can make a lot of difference in this.

On Friday, when Dr. Bedi was addressing BJP volunteers in the party office, there was a commotion on the dais when few leaders were standing and talking amongst themselves. It made her interrupt her speech and turn towards them and say: "Can we sit down? I am getting disturbed." The police discipline and the otherwise well mannered crowd is one that is sadly not seen in most political parties. If whether Dr. Bedi would be able to reform politics in general and BJP in particular remains to be seen, but her political success or failure will have good lessons for all concerned.