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T V R Shenoy

It's politics as usual!

"It will be back to business as usual!" was the sanguine reaction of most people in Delhi when faced with the threat of US sanctions. That is a matter for the future to decide, but I must say it was a pretty accurate prediction of domestic politics.

It took Jayalalitha barely a fortnight to grab the headlines, a position temporarily surrendered to Pokhran II. In swift succession an AIADMK minister was given marching orders by his boss and Jayalalitha herself took a contrarian position on an ordinance issued by the government.

We should have seen it coming. Jayalalitha has blown hot and cold with clockwork precision since March. Any good news has always been tempered with the opposite.

The AIAMDK-BJP alliance played a vital role in bringing the Vajpayee ministry into office, winning 30 of the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu. But the spirit of goodwill was dissipated before a single minister could be sworn in. I am sure you remember the unnecessary drama in mid-March -- the public slanging with Ramakrishna Hegde and Ram Jethmalani, the delay in handing over the letters of support to Rasthrapati Bhavan, and so on.

This was followed by a U-turn when the AIADMK, which had vowed to give nothing more than support from outside, decided to join the ministry after all. Jayalalitha's terms were simple; she wanted her own men to control some key offices -- law, personnel (which oversees the CBI), the enforcement directorate, and the income tax department.

She got them all. Thambidurai went to the law ministry, Janardhan got personnel, and R Kumar became a minister of state in the finance ministry with independent charges of banking and revenue. The BJP leaders didn't object too much. (They may even have been relieved that no BJP minister would be subjected to constant pressure from Madras to the 'helpful'.)

Once in office, the AIADMK ministers behaved as if they had some agenda independent of their colleagues. The law minister, for instance, tried to transfer ''unsympathetic judges'' even as he tried to appoint ''friendly'' prosecutors. He also tried, but failed, to name his own men as attorney-general and solicitor-general, and also to win an extension for his law secretary.

In spite of his failure to be adequately helpful, however, it isn't Thambidurai but R Kumar who became the first victim of Jayalalitha's wrath. Kumar, a qualified chartered accountant, was given several tasks. He was asked to stop the income tax authorities from harassing his boss, to rein in the enforcement directorate from moving against Jayalalitha's friend Sasikala, and simultaneously unleash both agencies against the DMK.

Unfortunately, Kumar lacked the finesse to carry out these assignments without attracting public comment. He chose to transfer dozens of pesky taxmen. It was a botched, thoroughly clumsy operation.

"It is worse than a crime, Sire, it is a blunder!" was the famous rebuke offered by Talleyrand to Napoleon. Kumar may have done the French emperor one better. Had someone chosen to test his decision in court, a judge could easily have decided that the political blunder was also mala fide.

That would have given the DMK the perfect opportunity to turn the tables on their old foe. They would have argued, quite legitimately, that the courts should take over the task of monitoring the cases against Jayalalitha and her friends. This in turn would have reduced the AIADMK minister in Delhi to helpless bystanders, totally unable to help their leader.

Small wonder if Jayalalitha decided to remove Kumar before he had any more brainwaves. And off he went, proclaiming his loyalty to the end. "If my leader wants me to jump from the third floor," he proclaimed, "I will do so without thinking."

Two lessons come out from the whole episode. First, strong-arm tactics like Kumar's can be counter-productive. Second, everyone should understand that no BJP minister will go out of the way to be 'helpful' -- something Jayalalitha clearly understood. Why else would she want her own men in key posts?

When the Vajpayee ministry assumed office, Opposition parties sniggered the AIADMK tail would wag the dog. However the heads of the BJP have proved otherwise.

This government didn't come to power because voters didn't like the faces of Congress or United Front leaders. No, the Vajpayee ministry took office to provide a clean break from the past, including cronyism and special favours. Whatever the fate of the US sanctions, it should not be 'business as usual' elsewhere.

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T V R Shenoy