The winds of change are blowing fast in Indian politics. Not only is the power shifting to newer players, but so is the style of governance.
From January 1, 2014, the security of newly-elected Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has been reduced along with the number of cars in her cavalcade.
Interestingly, the development comes days after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced his set of austerity measures.
Raje’s ambition to be the chief minister of the common man goes further.
Henceforth, she will not use the special chartered plane to travel, instead opt for regular routine flights; not move into the chief minister house; and even stop along with other commoners on traffic signals.
All this is in sharp contrast to her last tenure as chief minister.
Political analyst Om Saini told rediff.com, “She had lived like a queen then and it was difficult for anyone to meet her after 8pm.”
Raje’s changed lifestyle is being seen with suspicion. That’s because Raje’s oath ceremony a few days ago on December 13 at Janpath near the Vidhan Sabha was an extravagant affair.
Ashok Jain, state convenor of AAP, said: “Raje’s acts are only show-off and do not come naturally.”
“She is copying Arvind Kejriwal and AAP and not doing it from her heart. People who eat cashew nuts can’t eat bajra.”
“Whether it is Raje who is following Kejriwal’s steps or the Haryana government reducing electricity bills like the Delhi government, we see it as another win for us. We are setting the trend for traditional parties to follow,” Jain said.
