Since she was thrown out of power in the year 2006,
Jayalalitha was nowhere in the political arena or in Chennai city, but for her
statements to the media, announcing her party’s demonstration in some area of
the state ‘protesting’ against, some minor local civic problems like drinking
water, sewerage, road repairs, street lights etc., on which her party’s ward
committee members themselves could have approached local body authorities and
found redressed. Nevertheless, a lengthy statement used to be issued in her
name (drafted by her hired statement writers who pick up the civic problems
from newspapers) lambasting “the minority DMK rule led by (invective epithets)
Karunanidhi”. Although the statements do not behove of a two-time Chief
Minister and leader of an “All India” party to blow up such trivial matters, in
order to cover the news of the opposition parties, newspapers had been
dutifully publishing her statements. But the most suffered were her party’s direct
functionaries who had to shell out their “hard earned” money to mobilize crowds
for the daily show, lest their posts would be snatched away.
For more than four and a half years of the last five years,
Jayalalitha was sojourning at the cool comforts of her Kodanad estates in
Nilgiris or at her Siruthavur palace. Even for going to temples in other parts
of the state she used special aircrafts and helicopters because she was not
just a mortal to travel with public or use public roads. As the Leader of the
Opposition in the Assembly what democratic duty that she discharged in the last
five years? How many times did she attend the Assembly and participate in
debates? As Opposition leader did she ever lead any struggle on people’s
issues? Did she ever mobilize people in public meetings or conferences and
raised her voice for the people? Only after the grand success of the five-day
World Classical Tamil Conference at Coimbatore in the month of June last year,
jittery Jayalalitha organised a public meeting there to safeguard her vote bank
in that district. Leave alone the people of the state? Did she ever care to
visit her constituency, meet the people there who elected her to the Assembly,
hear their grievances and try to solve them? What was the democratic duty that
she discharged in the interests of the people of the state or her constituency
at least?
She did not spare time even for her party functionaries
leave alone the cadre to discuss party affairs and the number of occasions she
visited her party office in Chennai could be just handful, that every such
visit was turned into a carnival of sorts by her minions, whom she is
thoroughly convinced, do not deserve anything more than occasional glimpses of
her: after all, seniors with self-respect have already deserted her or
distanced themselves from her.
It was only on such occasions of her giving ‘free dharshan’
to her party minions, that she also ‘appears before mediapersons’. Strangely,
like her insipid party folks, the “enlightened” mediapersons too seemed to have
been thrilled at her very appearance that they forget to pose any inconvenient
questions to her as they do in the case of other leaders and dutifully noted
down whatever the tall claims the lady made.
All the while in the absence of Jayalalitha from the
political section, the dominant section of the media carried out a campaign
against the DMK government, the Party and Kalaignar. Once she woke up from
slumber, started entering the scene in view of the impending Assembly elections
with her such fancied public meetings at Coimbatore,
Tiruchi and Madurai
in the last few months these sections of the media turned into her devoted
mouthpieces and projected her as the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The
other opposition parties, who were making merry at the anti-DMK campaign
launched by the media, now felt hit below their belts when they sought to form
alliance with the ADMK, because they found Jayalalitha’s image blown up larger
than life size, that they had to meekly surrender to her dictates.
According to the rules of Legislative Assembly, a member who
continuously abstained from attending the House for 60 days will lose the
membership. But being the Leader of the Opposition she did not attend the House
for 60 days. Earlier, when the Assembly was functioning at Fort St George, she
used to come to the corridors of the House, sign the attendance register and
leave thus saving her membership. But now she had vowed that she would not
enter this New Assembly – Secretariat complex ‘built by Karunanidhi’ (the alien
British built Fort St George is acceptable to her). So, on 7.2.2011 ADMK deputy
leader O.Panneerselvam moved a resolution under Rule No.20 (a) seeking
permission of the House to dispense with Jayalalitha’s attendance during the
season as she had taken ill and doctors had advised her “complete rest.” The
ADMK whip K.A. Sengottaiyan seconded the resolution and it was adopted by voice
vote because the Kalaignar government in spite of having majority in the House,
accepted without contesting the contention of the ADMK on its face value on
humanitarian grounds, knowing well the ‘motive’ of Jayalalitha. They did not
then say that it was a ‘drama’ or ‘eyewash’ on her part, as she had now dubbed
the DMK and Congress of playing to hoodwink the people.
But in matter of days Jayalalitha’s drama of deceit got
exposed. The disproportionate assets case against her conducted at the Special Court in
Bengaluru had reached the final stages of recording her statement and delivery
of judgement. Only to prolong and protract the case Jayalalitha had the
resolution adopted in the Assembly, which was cited in the court for her
non-appearance. All these years Jayalalitha was only concentrating on
protracting such cases against her and not on people’s interests.
Jayalalitha had asked why the DMK did not pull out of the
UPA government on issues like killing of Lankan Tamils, Cauvery and
Mullaiperiyar issues. These were all long pending issues during her regimes and
did not crop up suddenly: people know about them. And most ironically she had
asked as to what happened to the Sethusamudram project except the draining of
Rs.1600 cr. It was she along with Hindu communalists like the BJP and
Subramanian Swamy who raised hue and cry against the project on mythological
grounds and obtained a stay from the Supreme Court. Does she think the people
of Tamil Nadu and particularly from southern districts will forgive her for
scuttling this dream project. No!
The people of the day, unlike the sections of the pervert
media, will only judge parties and leaders on their five-year performance
between the last elections and now, and not on few months of empty rhetorics
and proclamations. With their yardstick they will deliver their verdict when
their turn comes on April 13 – which cannot be protracted by Jayalalitha as in
the Bengaluru court!
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