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Jaya charges BJP with winning her allies and influencing the DMK

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham chief J Jayalalitha today charged the Bharatiya Janata Party with 'trying to split' her party and 'create dissensions' within the ruling alliance at the Centre and her alliance partners. She had "proof" of this, she said, and also charged the BJP with maintaining "hidden and secret contacts" with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, particularly in relation to the criminal cases pending against her.

"Is it right for the BJP...?" she asked repeatedly, listing out her charges against the party in this regard, one after the other. "Coalition politics is a two-day street and the AIADMK has never flinched from its loyalty to its alliance partners at any time," she said. In this context, she referred to her party continuing its alliance with Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy even when the BJP was against it.

The AIADMK had been an alliance partner of the Congress, even when the late Rajiv Gandhi had nearly 400 MPs in the Lok Sabha. "Even he treated us with respect. How, then, the BJP with less than half of that number treats us like this?" Jayalalitha quizzed, saying that the Vajpayee leadership was not taking its coalition partners into confidence before taking major decisions.

"Many important decisions of the government, we learn only from the newspapers," Jayalalitha said, repeating an earlier charge one more time. When the prime minister invited Opposition leaders like Sharad Pawar and Laloo Prasad Yadav for a special viewing of the Pokhran II video tapes and an accompanying briefing by scientists, leaders of the BJP's coalition partners were not accorded a similar treatment, she pointed out.

Jayalalitha suggested that the BJP leadership adopt a Gujral doctrine in their dealing with their coalition partners, without adopting a 'big brother' attitude. "It's only a friendly warning," she clarified, promising safe passage for the Union Budget when Parliament meets after recess on July 3.

Jayalalitha referred to her party's consistent demand for the dismissal of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu. There was an 'explicit understanding' between the BJP and the AIADMK on the question even before the elections, she claimed for the first time, and quoted from newspaper reports L K Advani and Vajpayee presenting arguments that would go to support the dismissal immediately after the Coimbatore blasts.

In this context, the AIADMK general secretary cited the apex court verdict in the Bommai case to argue that a state government could be dismissed for failing to ensure secularism. 'The DMK government, by letting Islamic fundamentalism take roots in the state, thus caused the Coimbatore blasts qualified itself for dismissal, she said, claiming that the President had little option if the Union cabinet stuck to its decision in the matter should Rashtrapati Bhavan choose to return any resolution recommending dissolution.

Jayalalitha repeatedly said that her dismissal demand was not motivated by "personal reasons for political consideration". It only had national security in mind, given the ISI hand in the matter. She insisted that the Vajpayee government was duty-bound to dismiss the Karunanidhi regime. The demand was "non-negotiable", and her party would decide on its next course of action after her meeting with the prime minister and the home minister, scheduled for Jun 27.

"No one has sent us any feelers," Jayalalitha declared, answering a specific question whether the Congress was in touch with her. However, she was "keeping options open", she added, answering another question in this context.

The cases against her were all "politically motivated" and she was being prosecuted for being an "efficient chief minister who cleared various projects with expediency". "Karunanidhi is only cutting ribbons to inaugurate the projects cleared by me." In the company of "his BJP-RSS friends" Karunanidhi was using the cases against her as a red-herring from his government's acts of commissions and omissions.

Jayalaitha also questioned the wisdom of her MDMK ally in contradicting itself on the dismissal question. "Before the elections, MDMK leader Vaiko wanted the DMK government to go. Now he says he is against the use of Article 356. What will his cadre and the people understand from this statement?" she asked, wanting to know whether Vaiko was ready to stay away from the polls should the AIADMK succeed in getting the DMK government dismissed.

For a 'hot' press meet of the type, Jayalalitha maintained her cool throughout, not getting provoked by inconvenient questions even once. If anything, she kept on answering until almost media men nearly dried up of newer questions. But by hitting at the BJP and ridiculing the MDMK she put them both in the same bracket, hinting at a near-parting of ways should the other two choose thus. In evidence was her patience, and she said she would discuss all issues with the BJP leaders at Delhi on June 27, and would not take any hasty decision.

For the present, though, the AIADMK has presented the BJP with another 'test-case' as well. Jayalalitha made an extensive statement on the Tamil Nadu government's Prevention Of Terrorism Bill, and called it 'draconian'. Citing apex court verdicts, and recalling the withdrawal of TADA, she charged that the Karunanidhi government "will misuse the new law against the DMK's political opponents". She hence wanted the President not to give his assent to the bill, thus throwing the ball in the BJP's court -- for the Centre to decide one way or the other.

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