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A humbler Jayalalitha embarks on Delhi visit

N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras

AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha will visit Delhi tonight against the backdrop of Prime Minister A B Vajpayee's reported decision to hasten the much-delayed Cabinet expansion, and the caste clashes in southern Tamil Nadu.

While using the former to strengthen the AIADMK's position within the ruling coalition, Jayalalitha will cite the caste clashes as one more reason for dismissing the state government.

Jayalalitha is going to Delhi with an open-ended schedule, and also with an open mind. While seeking to dispel the Bharatiya Janata Party's anxieties over the AIADMK's earlier plans to part company, she may still want to project her as a counter- force within the coalition.

However, on the twin issues of Cabinet expansion and the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha has clear ideas. She has proposed the name of Dindigul Lok Sabha member C Srinivasan for the Cabinet vacancy caused by the earlier resignation of Sedapatti R Muthiah. Likewise, she has Niraikulathan to take the place of R K Kumar, who quit as minister of state for banking and revenue, and C Gopal, a Dalit MP, for the promised fifth berth for the AIADMK, as a minister of state.

As much as the number of berths, where she could accommodate partymen, Jayalalitha is also said to be keen on certain portfolios. The party is said to be having a rethink on the wisdom of giving away the priced petroleum ministry to coalition partner and Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress leader Vazhapadi K Ramamurthy, in the first place. Indications are that Jayalalitha may seek the portfolio for an AIADMK nominee.

Jayalalitha is also keen to use her Delhi visit to impress upon her national audience, the perceived need for sacking the Karunanidhi government in Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK was not averse to the dismissal of the Bihar government when the BJP-Samata Party duo made the move last month, but only wanted the Tamil Nadu government too dismissed beforehand.

With the caste clashes in Ramanathapuram district falling on the eve of her Delhi visit, Jayalalitha is sure to refer to the failing law and order situation in the state, in her meetings with the prime minister and Home Minister L K Advani. She is also likely to call on President K R Narayanan, when she may raise the issue.

Politically, Jayalalitha will use the occasion to strengthen her ties with the BJP, rather than weaken it. The AIADMK is tired of waiting for "right signals" from the Congress. The BJP leadership too seems eager to meet some of her administrative demands, now that they have Jayalalitha where they had wanted her.

With Jayalalitha's Delhi schedule under way, the Union law ministry, under AIADMK nominee M Thambidurai last week sacked two members and shifted one more from the income-tax appellate tribunal, Madras, who were hearing cases against the family members of Sasikala Natarajan, Jayalalitha's live- in confidante. Of them, P K Bansal and Tyagi, both sacked, had passed an order against V Bhaskaran, a nephew of Sasikala, only three months back.

Earlier too, the Centre had taken steps that seemed to favour the Sasikala family. An out-of-turn hearing has been given to Bhaskaran in another case. K V Chaudhary, deputy director, investigations, Bangalore, in charge of Jayalalitha's income-tax cases at Madras, and S Ravi, earlier DDI, Madras, too have been shifted. The wholesale transfer of IT commissioners ordered by R K Kumar as minister needs no repetition.

Even while meeting senior BJP leaders, Jayalalitha may receive other coalition partners, according to AIADMK sources. While she by herself would not do or say anything that could be construed as anti-BJP, she wouldn't mind the media focus falling on her by such meetings, if they are sought. However, she may use the occasion to point out the commonality of the logic behind their reservations about the BJP's handling of coalition partners since the Vajpayee government took over.

Whatever political decisions taken in the light of these discussions, if any, will have to await a detailed assessment of the evolving situation once she is back in Madras. That being the case, it may be a comparative quiet Delhi visit for Jayalalitha against the earlier ones, when the AIADMK pulling out of the government looked imminent.

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