|
| A Tale Of Two CMs |
| By Sanjay Pinto, Friday November 6, 2009 |
| Judas kisses and Aurangazeb embraces, shadow boxing and one upmanship, money bags and revolving doors, competitive populism and pettifogging.The common denominators of Indian politics. But in the country's almost self proclaimed 'cultural capital', there's never a drop in the political temperature. Political journalists can't help feeling like war reporters. 24x7, it's the Jayalalithaa Vs. Karunanidhi bout that's just got more vitriolic with time. When I had my baptism by fire with NDTV in Tamil Nadu's dravidian battle ground, I vividly remember a veteran political commentator telling me "if you can survive covering the DMK and the AIADMK, you can report in any situation, anywhere in the world". It seemed like an exaggeration. Twelve years on, an understatement! Nowhere else, will you come across two leaders who are eternally at war with each other. Never mind that 'lipstick on a pig' sort of campaign, a Mc Cain will still congratulate an Obama, even attend his swearing in. Never mind that 'weakest Prime Minister' barb, an Advani will be present at a Manmohan Cabinet formation. A Lalu Prasad will be spotted at a Ram Vilas Paswan family wedding reception. A YSR would call on a Chandrababu Naidu post a naxal assassination attempt. And a Naidu would offer condolences to YSR`s family, post the copter crash. But in Tamilnadu, Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi will never exchange pleasantries. Never visit the other in hospital. Never congratulate the winner,(every five years) but only cry foul. Never participate in the other's swearing in. Never appear together in all party meets. Never attend the same functions. And almost by default, take turns to boycott assembly sessions when the other is in power, barring a few exceptions. Even for these rare occasions, the seating in the assembly has been changed so that the two leaders don't even make eye contact! Even in the film world, from which both these heavy weights emerged, there's bonhomie between two of the biggest stars - Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. They talk of acting together again. They have an unwritten understanding on not releasing their films on the same day. And remember that affectionate hug between the 'superstar' and the 'universal hero' on the latter's completion of fifty years in cinema. Caught in this crossfire are Govt babus. So everytime there's a change of guard at Fort St. George, heads roll. And there's a complete re-shuffle, with the loyalists of the party in power rewarded with plum posts and key officials of the previous dispensation, either shunted to the boondocks or off on Central deputation. Caught in this crossfire are also journalists who get branded easily and it requires a special skill to get a neutral tag! Fuelling the bitterness between the two camps are their party owned mouthpieces - newspapers and TV channels that only prove 'the medium is the message'! North of the Vindhyas, my colleagues are often curious about my interaction with these two juggernauts. Curiosity leads to shock when I fill them in! Jayalalithaa, is in reality, extremely well mannered and can be most charming in a one on one chat. I remember how many years ago, as a young NDTV Correspondent, I protested when one of her Black Cat commandos pushed me away. Hearing my screams, she stopped and said "please allow the gentleman to come forward. I hope you're not hurt. What is your question, please?" Even in crowded party functions, if you wish her, she will greet you back with a smile. Every birthday or Diwali card will be personally acknowledged. Her hundred odd defamation cases against the media when she was Chief Minister, would make it difficult to make you believe that on her recent return from Ooty, she actually brought home made chocolates for some journalists! Amma is also accused of keeping people - officials, Ministers, allies waiting. But the sight of a Jayalalithaa turning up at the Loyola College chapel fifteen minutes before a wedding mass of a colleague's son and patiently sitting through the whole service, till the bridal march was played, is still fresh in my mind. Of course, a provocative question can put her off in a jiffy. And she can be quite inaccessible. Karunanidhi too can floor you. Quite unassuming in person, he's gifted with the humour of a P.G. Wodehouse and the wit of a Birbal! He often manages to tackle inconvenient questions at press conferences with tongue in cheek one liners! Just recently, when my senior colleague Srinivasan Jain and I did a joint interview with him in the run up to the elections (yes, the one on Prabhakaran et al!) Srinivasan was powdering his nose. Seated before us, Karunanidhi quipped: "I'm giving the interview and no make up for me?!" In the good old days, he was also known to return calls from journalists. So we are talking about two absolutely charming leaders. But why do they keep going for each other's jugular? Karunanidhi and the late MGR, Jayalalithaa's mentor, used to be at least on talking terms. The seeds of bitterness between Amma and 'Kalaignar' were sown in 1989. When Jayalalithaa was assaulted by DMK members in the State assembly, she swore to return to the House only as Chief Minister. She did. But after her term, she was confronted with a slew of corruption cases, and is still fighting a few of them. So after the assault, came her arrest during the DMK regime. This time again, she swore to hit back. And she did. Karunanidhi's midnight arrest was too dramatic to be forgotten. From lashing out at each other with statements, to targetting party offices, to demolishing arches erected by the other, to re-installing statues removed by the previous regime, the arch rivalry in Tamilnadu has few parallels in India's political landscape. The Mulayam - Mayawati spat can be a distant second. On two occasions, however, I felt, a ceasefire was going to be brokered. When Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Chief Minister for the second time, the DMK's M.K.Stalin and Prof. K.Anbazhagan actually attended the function! On her way out, a beaming Jayalalithaa stopped to greet them with her trademark 'vannakkam'. But minutes later, the DMK pointed out that the Leader Of The Opposition was not given a proper seat at the swearing in. Perhaps, no one expected him to attend?! A month later, Karunanidhi and Stalin were arrested on corruption charges in the construction of flyovers; a case that just fell by the wayside. Then, more recently, an emotional Karunanidhi told the assembly that he would like to have cordial relations with all parties. Burying the hatchet? Not quite! Soon, he was out threatening to address Jayalalithaa, a spinster, as 'Mrs. Jayalalithaa' if she didn't stop calling his regime a 'minority' Govt! So the next time you hear the old adage: "There are no permanent friends or enemies in politics", remember there are exceptions! |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Sanjay is a Chief Correspondent - Tamil Nadu (Consultant) NDTV 24x7.
