ASSEMBLY POLL '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS '98
ARCHIVES

Bihar's developments rattle TN government

N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras

The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu is perturbed over the weekend's developments in distant Bihar.

Public reaction of the leadership notwithstanding, the cadres are anxious about the future of the party's government in the state.

"While the killing of Dalits in Jehanabad is reprehensible, that could not justify the dismissal of the Rabri Devi government in Bihar," DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said in his initial reaction to the presidential proclamation of Friday. The party is keeping its fingers crossed on the Supreme Court verdict that may flow from the Rashtriya Janata Dal's decision to contest the dismissal, legally.

The DMK leadership is confident that the Vajpayee government will not see a parallel between the Bihar developments and the rival AIADMK's constant demand for the dismissal of the Tamil Nadu government. They refer to the repeated references of senior BJP leaders that Bihar was a 'fit case' for the use of Article 356 of the Constitution, but declining to link up Tamil Nadu in the same breath.

But the second-line is not so confident. They refer to AIADMK chief Jayalalitha's unrelenting demand for the dismissal of the Karunanidhi government, and also to the "Vajpayee government yielding to her 'pressure-tactics' in recent weeks." Says a state minister: "True, there is no cause for concern now, but once the BJP leadership has started yielding to Jayalalitha's demands, there is no stopping."

He may have a point. While justifying the imposition of President's rule in Bihar, Jayalalitha has said the situation in Tamil Nadu was worse than prevailing in the north Indian State. "Tamil Nadu is a better case for President's rule," she added in a statement, referring to the recent killing of a BJP leader in Tiruchi, and the 'hooch tragedy' near Tiruvellore. DMK men were trying to protect those behind the 'hooch tragedy', she said and blamed the former killing on the continued presence of Islamic fundamentalists in the state even after the 'Coimbatore blasts'.

In this context, the DMK minister also refers to the statement of BJP general secretary M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday. Labelling Bihar under RJD rule as a 'fit case' for President's rule, Naidu however referred to the continued presence of Islamic fundamentalists in the state. "The state government should not ignore the threat," he said and wanted to know why it did not want to hand over the 'Coimbatore blasts' probe to the CBI, given the international conspiracy involved.

The DMK leadership has been 'wary' of the Vajpayee government yielding to AIADMK's 'pressures, lately'. "They said they would not interfere with the special courts earlier, but have since taken sides with Jayalalitha in the Supreme Court," says the DMK leader. "Newspaper reports today have spoken about the income-tax department, conceding payment of dues and penalty by Jayalalitha and her aide Sasikala Natarajan, against earlier advice."

According to DMK sources, the "BJP has reached a point of no-return in its ties with the AIADMK. Earlier, there were hopes of an alternate ally emerging for the BJP in Tamil Nadu. But the Vajpayee government has foreclosed that option by identifying itself so very completely with the AIADMK, not to mention the resurgence of communal violence elsewhere in the country."

Other sources seek to concur, though say that a lot will depend on the Supreme Court verdict in the 'Bihar case', if moved. "At least President K R Narayanan will not do anything in haste," they say. "But Jayalalitha has by now learnt how to bend and pressure the Vajpayee government, at least, to take the initiative."

Tell us what you think of this report