Aaya Rams and Gaya Rams

With the Karnataka Governor H R Bharadwaj bringing the Karnataka Raj Bhavan into disrepute, one has to shine the spotlight on the incumbent here, Surjit Singh Barnala who has been Raj Bhavan’s resident from November 3, 2004. It's been almost seven years and he's mostly been a model resident except for the controversies, including those about influencing appointments in universities. It is not a coincidence that former CM Karunanidhi joined UPA-I that year and was in a position to call the shots. And call the 86-year-old Surjit Singh Barnala he did because he can never forget that the latter refused to dismiss him in 1990 when the centre wanted him to do so. Barnala ended up being transferred for his defiance.



With such an equation with Karunanidhi, Barnala was sorry to see the man who is about a year older than him go. Incidentally, both move around in wheelchairs. Barnala even swore in Jayalalitha and her cabinet from his wheelchair. Apart from thanking Karunanidhi for “the advice and co-operation offered to me throughout our association”, in his letter to Karunanidhi, accepting his resignation on May 13, the Governor added: “I would also like to say that I had appreciated the personal courtesy extended to me at all times.” That is a personal equation that he’s going to miss in the days to come with new CM Jayalalitha apparently making it clear she wants to see a change in Raj Bhavan. The pattern in TN has been that when she comes to power, she overturns all the decisions Karunanidhi makes and he returns the favour when he comes back to power. So Barnala can start packing. After all, apart from becoming a victim of the crossfire between them, he has to pay the price for being Karunanidhi’s friend!



In next door Puducherry, Lt Governor Iqbal Singh may have survived his alleged links with black money king Hassan Ali for now, but his days are numbered too. There have been dharnas and protests called by opposition parties in the run-up to his questioning by the Enforcement Directorate. Apparently, new CM, N Rangasamy, was party to the decision by opposition parties to have a bandh in the union territory a few weeks ago. But he did not take part in it. This week he was sworn in by Iqbal Singh, but the Puducherry CM who is simple and has a Spartan lifestyle has made it clear that he would not like to work with this Sardarji.



The dosa syndrome



“Mukkavasi amma (mostly amma)”, said the auto driver. “Everyone I talk to says they voted the AIADMK,” said the journalist. “AIADMK has the edge,” said the political analyst. Various pollsters gave different scenarios but most said “amma has the edge”. But nobody foresaw the tsunami that has brought AIADMK chief Jayalalitha back for the third time (technically fourth time because she had to resign in 2001 and was sworn in again in 2002 as the CM after being acquitted in the TANSI case) as the CM. Now nobody is willing to stick their necks out about what she will do although she has begun to overturn many of his decisions including shifting her office back to Fort St George and abandoning the Rs 1100 crore assembly complex that was one of ex-CM Karunanidhi’s pet projects.. Will she go after Karunanidhi, or perhaps Azhagiri after her focused attack in him last October in Madurai? Right now, she says, her first priority is to tackle law and order. Isn't it an irony that the first reported murder after she was elected took place when a DMK man refused to rejoice in her victory? DMK party worker Thayalan, 32, a supporter of Thirumani councillor Arumugam, was hacked to death on Saturday night on the outskirts of Chennai because he and his family refused sweets given by AIADMK men to celebrate their victory. Then an argument broke out over bursting of crackers that turned violent leading to Thayalan being axed to death. The more things change, the more they remain the same?



Mission Impossible?



I remember that the first file N T Rama Rao signed after taking over as CM was ordering prohibition in Andhra Pradesh. The first file Jayalalitha signed after taking oath on May 16 was to roll out freebies. Seven schemes including 20 kg free rice to all eligible ration card holders (which will come into effect on June 1), doubling of pension (old age, differently-abled, deserted women and destitute widows) from Rs 500 to Rs 1000 per month, six months maternity leave for government employees, marriage aid of Rs 25000 and four gm gold for educated poor women and marriage aid of Rs 50,000 and four gm gold for women diploma holders.



The prohibition that NTR brought in with such a flourish was phased out by his successor Chandrababu Naidu (incidentally, he was a guest at Jayalalitha’s swearing-in too) because it was bankrupting the state. Will Amma’s welfare measures bankrupt the state? The government has a total debt of over Rs 1,00,000 crores. The DMK government, in its interim budget earlier this year had projected a fiscal deficit of Rs 13,506.84 crores for this financial year. Jayalalitha claims she will take the state on a growth path industry and agriculture-wise so all the revenue she lavishes on freebies will be absorbed.



On her second day as CM, Jayalalitha called a cabinet meeting and gave a pep talk on “believing in the development mission.” In fact, a minister confessed, “We thought she might concentrate on action against corrupt DMK seniors, but she is focused on her mission.”



One thing she can do is plug the leakages in the system and pluck out the undeserving. Can she do it? Considering that she has been voted on the corruption plank, she has to. One hopes that her newly created post – minister for “Special Programme Implementation” to monitor the schemes (she has named S P Velumani for this portfolio) – will be effective.



But still not to rain on her parade. She says, “People have seen my good administration between 2001 and 2006. They want to return to those good old days.” The jury is out on that one still.



Amma gets Left And Right

After basking in the glory of her swearing in (and her jumbo 33 minister cabinet including 24 new faces who get a lesson from Amma about signing files) Jayalalitha was also greeted by her allies (CPM’s D Raja and CPI’s A B Bardhan) and friends (Gujarat CM Narender Modi). People were rubbing their eyes in disbelief seeing the camaraderie between Modi and the comrades. In Chennai, vindictiveness and pettiness is what governs relationships between leaders of opposing parties (sources say Karunanidhi will keep away from the assembly). But it was still a stretch to see the bonhomie between the left and the right. Apart from Modi’s equation with Jayalallitha, it was amusing to see a beatifically smiling Mr Raja and many an arm on the shoulders of the Gujarat CM (who has to still shake off the fact that he is a political untouchable) while he was greeting Amma. But after being routed in West Bengal and seeing the government slip out of the party’s grasp, maybe Raja was carried away while counting his blessings for small mercies (CPIM and CPI have won 19 seats here, their biggest ever haul). CPIM state secretary G Ramakrishan attributed the camaraderie as “the swearing-in is a family function” and that nothing significant should be read into it.

Bhai-behen bond



Modi seems to be her role model because Jayalalitha has told her babus that she wants to see Tamil Nadu on the path of development like Gujarat! Modi was just as flattering, tweeting that “Jayalalithaa's victory is not limited to Tamil Nadu. It will influence national politics in the fight against corruption. I’ve seen her dedication to Tamil Nadu. I am sure she will contribute to a great extent.” He also said TN will develop in “leaps and bounds”.



Modi and Jayalalitha have been part of a mutual admiration society for several years, aeons in politics with its constantly shifting allegiances (ask PMK’s Ramadoss if you don’t believe me – although with just 3 seats out of 31 seats contested he should be writing a manual on “How not to conduct politics”). She went to Gujarat for his swearing-in when he came back as CM in December 2002, stunning all his detractors.



In January 2008, Jayalalitha, not known for socializing and having guests for meals, laid out a table groaning with 45 goodies after inviting Modi and Ravi Shankar Prasad for a Pongal lunch. Prasad was still licking his lips after the repast when he talked to journos hanging onto the Poes Garden gate for hours, both hungry and thirsty! He said: “It was an extraordinary lunch. There were 45 items on the menu. We discussed a whole range of issues. Jayalalithaa is an excellent host.” The menu included aappam, poli, chakkare pongal (a sweet dish made of newly harvested rice and jaggery) rounded off with fruits.



The BJP is seen as a natural ally of Amma – they went together in the 1998 and 2004 general elections – and therefore Modi might also have had a hidden agenda. Coming soon after Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s invitation to Amma for tea during her congratulatory call, Modi’s high-profile presence – nobody from the Congress was there at the swearing in – might have helped him kill two birds with one stone. To keep BJP on Jayalalitha’s radar and also to annoy Sonia, and we all know how much he loves doing that!