No more alien rule

The anxiety of the ADMK members of the Assembly to placate their Amma’s ego by suggesting that Jayalalitha will be returned to power after the ensuing elections and assume charge as Chief Minister, led to sharp exchanges and their walk out on the last day of the session of the 13^th Assembly. Although the Deputy Leader of the ADMK group O.Panneerselvam and others took serious objection to Finance Minister Prof. K.Anbazhagan saying, ‘If the former  Chief Minister remaining in complete rest can aspire to become the next Chief Minister, why not active Kalaignar retain the post?” by pointing out the resolution moved by the ADMK and approved by the House exempting her attendance owing to her ill-health and advised ‘complete rest’ by doctors, Jayalalitha herself has been conspicuous by her silence. Later outside the House, Kalaignar openly charged her of playing a trick, by using DMK members to get the said resolution passed in the Assembly only to facilitate her get another adjournment in the Disproportionate Assets case in the Special Court in Bengaluru. He even taunted Jayalalitha by accusing her of fear of facing the case, which is at a crucial point.  But her statement writers, in perennial quest for some crumb to make out a statement, also did not respond, obviously as directed by her. So either ‘she had been advised complete rest’ or ‘she misled the Assembly to get another adjournment in the case’ must be correct. Either way it will spell a doom on her ambition!

The ADMK deputy leader, on that day, went on to state that she would assume charge as CM at Fort St George, the old premises of the Assembly and Secretariat. Jayalalitha herself had made a statement like that earlier. Addressing her party executive council in March last year, she described the design of the new Assembly building as repulsive and ‘announced’ that her party would form the next government at Fort St George. ‘The building is being called Karunanidhi’s fort. We don’t need this Assembly building. We will form out next government at Fort St George.”

Jayalalitha’s statement not only divulge her morbid antipathy for Kalaignar and everything associated with him, but also unmasks her imperious and ‘trading’ mentality. Fort St George is a British Fort built in 1639 by the East India Company, the trading body which came to India in 1600 and later the citadel of power of the British imperialist rulers. It is reminiscent of alien ruler. Now it is the property of the Central government which leased it to Tamil Nadu government. Being an alien rule, the British required a highly protected fort segregated from the people. Kalaignar’s intention was to build Tamil Nadu government’s own Assembly and Secretariat complex. Reflecting the spirit of democratic governance, he brought the citadel of power from the fort to the people at the heart of Chennai city on the busy thoroughfare Anna Salai. As a symbol of power being brought to the people the Public Plaza is the biggest of all structures in the complex. Incidentally, on either side of the new Assembly – Chief Secretariat Complex are situated the statues of Thanthai Periyar and Arignar Anna.

On the contrary Jayalalitha abhors masses, except at the time of elections. During her previous five year regime, she hardly went out of Chennai or met the people. Her enslaved Ministers could neither dare to meet the people because they had virtually no say in the administration and had to refer everything to their Amma. So by the very nature of it, Jayalalitha’s was an alien rule.

By administration, Jayalalitha proved to be as alien as the British, perhaps even more. Even the British rulers did not think of such oppressive measures like dismissing from service overnight nearly two lakh government employees and lodging in jails thousands of them including women by arresting in the midnight, banning recruitments in government offices, filing hundreds of defamation cases against journals and journalists, police raiding the offices of newspapers and residences of journalists using draconian laws to detain in prisons political opponents and journalists, stopping supply of rice and other essential commodities under PDS to sizeable sections of the people by introducing different ration cards, withholding all benefits to government employees and social welfare schemes to the poor and downtrodden etc.,

Almost all newspapers and journals, experts, architects and international bodies had hailed the design and structure of the complex as an amalgamation of traditional Dravidian architecture and high tech facilities. Himself an acclaimed artist Kalaignar strained every nerve of his to make it monumental. People who witness the structure would cursingly laugh at Jayalalitha’s description of repulsive design. If the complex is not required for ADMK as mentioned by her, why did she send her MLAs to attend Assembly sessions in it?

If she avoids this complex because it is built by Kalaignar, can she come out of her residence and move around Chennai city because on either side of the main road from her Poes Garden residence are situated two flyovers constructed during DMK rules. Can she undertake her election campaign around the state traveling on road because most of the highways, bypass roads and bridges in Tamil Nadu were laid or constructed during his rules. During her regimes she avoided Valluvar Kottam for government function because it was built by Kalaignar. But she used Kalaivanar Arangam which too was remodeled and built by Kalaignar.

In the run-up to the Assembly elections in a few months, the electoral scene is almost similar to what existed in 2001. The parties that have aligned with the ADMK now were also part of the ADMK alliance then. They promised the people that Jayalalitha would provide a better rule than the most corrupt and autocratic one during her earlier tenure between 1991 and 1996. But within months after she assumed power, they had to come out of the alliance and seek pardon from the people – as she turned most oppressive, fascist and anti-people. Now they are again carrying her to the people in palanquin.

During the last five years, Jayalalitha had been ridiculing and condemning every social welfare scheme and measure of the DMK government – from one rupee a kg. rice scheme to Kalaignar Housing Scheme of free concrete houses, Health Insurance scheme etc., With her track record of canceling or withholding all schemes introduced by Kalaignar, can the allies of the ADMK now promise people that she will not cancel the present schemes if she is elected to power?

But people are very wise. They say ‘once bitten, twice shy.’ People of Tamil Nadu were twice bitten and hence they will be four times shy. They will not again buy an alien rule!