VVIPs must die.

Since independence 66 years ago the Congress has instituted a feudal system in which they have designated themselves as VVIP or Very, Very Important Persons while the people have been contemptuously labeled as ' aam aadmi ' which means ' ordinary people '. They built up a hierarchy in which politicians fought and begged for perks, much like feral dogs fight for bones in garbage bins. Massive bungalows, body guards armed with automatic weapons and cars with flashing red lights and sirens demanding right of way over everyone, even if someone died for not being able to reach a hospital in time. It was a matter of pride, the more the perks the higher the social status. So when the Aam Aadmi Party or AAP was formed Congress fellows found it amusing enough to mock as the ' mango party ' because the word ' Aam ' means either ' common ' or ' mango ' according to context. Until elections in Delhi when the AAP reduced the Congress to a rump party with just 8 seats and former Chief Minister, Sheila Dixit lost her seat to Arvind Kejriwal by over 25,000 votes. Talk about humble pie. The victory of the AAP was based on promises of free water, lower electricity costs, an end to corruption, transparent governance and a refusal of all perks that other politicians crave. Experts are calculating the economic consequences of promises made by AAP and whether the logistics are feasible. Politicians are criticising and challenging them to fulfil their promises, willing the AAP to fail so that they can go back to their old shameless corrupt practices. They also say that refusing perks is just show and has nothing to do with good governance. The older politicians, who try to cling on to their seats regardless of age, still demanding billions in black money and trying to get their criminal children into politics so that the loot can continue for generations, do not understand why anyone would be so stupid as to refuse the biggest attraction of making a career in politics. But for the people these are of enormous importance. When Kejriwal was given a 5 bedroom house, tiny by comparison to any other chief minister, there was an outcry. He has been forced to reject it and has demanded a smaller residence. For us the death of all perks is absolutely essential. We want that politicians should be our servants and not our masters, as they seem to think. If the AAP can destroy the old system they will go down in history as heroes.