NEW DELHI: The alliance between the Congress and the AIADMK is all but broken AIADMK members in Parliament will now work in coordination with other opposition parties quite unconcerned about how it may affect the government. This is a direct sequel to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha’s decision to go in for direct confrontation with the Congress in and out of Parliament.
Jayalalitha whose disenchantment with the Congress and growing proximity to the Bharatiya Janata Party was evident in her speech in Nov.23 meeting of the National Integration Council is believed to have already directed her partymen to show that they could not be taken for granted. Their decision is to oppose the government on an issue-to-issue basis.
The 11-member AIADMK contingent in the Lok Sabha which has all along been a certain source of strength is now poised for an attack on the government in collaboration with other opposition parties when questions like price rise and withdrawal of fertilizer subsidy are raised in the House. Whenever the case of Railway Minister Jaffer Sharief and other major episodes of corruption come up Prime Minister P.V Narasimha Rao can count on his ally’s opposition from this Parliament session onwards.
Distrust of the Congress and resentment against its moves has been welling up in Jayalalithas mind for some time now. The last straw as it were came when she met Narasimha Rao on Monday with a plan not only to relate the woes of flood-hit Tamil Nadu but also to discuss certain irritants in the relations between their two parties. As soon as all points on flood havoc were made Rao cut short the discussion leaving Jayalalitha no chance to bring up all that was bothering her.
Sources close to Jayalalitha say that not only did she not have an opportunity to tell the Prime Minister how some of his partymen Moopanar and his minions as well as Dr.Subramanian Swamy were scandalizing her but the latter learned within minutes of her meeting with the Prime Minister how long it lasted. Dr.Swamy had been helped out with secret information about Jayalalitha which could not have been done without the knowledge of those in political command of intelligence agencies. Also it is asked how he can be in possession of secret papers like the Chief Election Commissioner’s letter to the Tamil Nadu Governor on charges leveled by him against Jayalalitha if he has not been helped out by someone high up in the establishment.
Dr.Swamy is according to sources close to Jayalalitha a politician highly favored by the powers that be in New Delhi. For instance instructions are dished from New Delhi to provide to Dr.Swamy security of a scale seldom accorded even to former Prime Ministers whenever he is in Madras. As it happens Dr.Swamy receives top grade security when national security guards provided so far to Jayalalitha have been abruptly withdrawn. The kind of exposure given to Dr.Swamy particularly when he purveys charges against Jayalalitha has also offended her.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 4, 1992
