Politics takes a
'right' turn
Santosh Kumar
O Panneerselvam
Eight months after her
untimely demise, J
Jayalalithaa is back at the
centrestage of Tamil Nadu
politics. That does not
mean that she was not at
the core of Dravidian politics all these
months.
Only, instead of taking forward her
legacy among the people of the state,
'orphaned' leaders of her Anna
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam were
busy outdoing each other in staking
claim over her legacy. With one clear
contender for the former chief
minister's throne, her companion of
yore VK Sasikala put behind bars for
collaboration with Amma in amassing
disproportionate assets, it became
clear that the party was heading
towards a natural death. That is till the
new dispensation at the Centre in
J Jayalalithaa
Delhi thought otherwise, to prolong its
agonising end.
The BJP saw first in O Panneerselvam, the loyalist who
turned rebel overnight at the Samadhi
of Amma on the Marina, ideal material
to work on. But noting that OPS lacks the numbers, a key factor in the
democracy practised by saffronites,
the Hindutva party decided to change
horse midstream.
EK Palaniswami
So it was the turn of current chief
minister EK Palaniswami, supposedly
handpicked by Sasikala and company
to counter Panneerselvam, to play
second fiddle to BJP. He complied by
VK Sasikala
first breaking away from Sasikala's
hold and then revolting against her
nephew and deputy general secretary
of the party, TTV Dinakaran. But since
Sasikala and her clan were determined
to fight it out rather than surrender
meekly, those string pullers thought it
was time for EPS and OPS to break
bread for the "good of AIADMK".
TTV Dinakaran
As a prelude to the "merger" of the
two factions, it was decided that the
time has come to dispel any doubts
regarding the death of Puratchi
Thalaivi.
"Various news from various
sections and forums are appearing in
the media about the death of Puratchi
Thalaivi Amma...An enquiry
commission headed by the retired
high court judge will be set up to look
into the death of Idhaya Deivam (God
of Heart) Amma," Palaniswami said on
Thursday. He added that Jayalalithaa's
Poes Garden residence Veda Nilayam
"will be turned into a government
memorial and the general public will
be allowed entry".
Jayalalithaa's house- Veda Nilayam at Poes Garden in Chennai
On the face of it, both issues have
been raised earlier by Panneerselvam.
But there is no mention about the
other demand of OPS, the ouster of
Sasikala from the party. So the
question arises as to why Palaniswami,
who had opposed both the ideas in the past, has had a sudden change of
heart? Is it for the good of the party or
for a "larger cause"? Or is this yet
another work of the apparition that
guided Panneerselvam on that fateful
night at the Marina last February.
Whatever it may be, definitely some
hidden hand is controlling both the
incumbent chief minister and his
predecessor. Incidentally, Dinakaran
and the opposition DMK's Stalin too
have demanded a probe into Amma's
death, but they prefer a CBI one over a
judicial one.
Both things are easier said than
done. Given the fact that Palaniswami has not given any hint on when the
committee will be constituted or when
the enquiry will be completed, it is
going to be a long-drawn-out process.
So, one can assume that Palaniswami
is bargaining for time before coming to
a final decision.
Meanwhile, parleys are being held
in Delhi to chalk out a compromise
formula. It is better not to ask why the
talks are not being held in Chennai,
and why they are being held in Delhi.
Answers are too obvious. The BJP is
busy brokering peace between the two
and in the process hoping the lotus will
bloom between the two. Before even
thinking about the absurdity of such a
possibility, it would be interesting to
see how the enquiry process takes
shape. It is considered a miracle that no riots broke out at the time of
Jayalalithaa's death. Can anybody
guarantee that such a thing would not
happen in case Jayalalithaa's body has
to be exhumed?
There is room for such hypothetical
questions since it involves medical
examination. This is just one aspect of
the enormous tasks awaiting the
enquiry commission which has been
welcomed by Apollo Hospital where
Amma breathed her last. Jayalalithaa
was admitted to the hospital on
September 22, 2016 with complaints
of fever and dehydration. She
remained under treatment for 75 days at the end of which she passed away
on December 5, 2016.
Veda Nilayam is witness to many a
Veda Nilayam is witness
to many a happening in
the tumultuous life of
Jayalalithaa over the
last 25 years that
changed the face of
Tamil Nadu politics for
ever. The house, which
is worth more than Rs
90 crore now, was
bought by
Jayalalithaaa's mother
Veda Valli alias Sandhya
in 1967 for a meagre
Rs 1.32 lakh.
happening in the tumultuous life of
Jayalalithaa over the last 25 years that
changed the face of Tamil Nadu
politics for ever. The house, which is
worth more than Rs 90 crore now, was
bought by Jayalalithaaa's mother Veda
Valli alias Sandhya in 1967 for a
meagre Rs 1.32 lakh.
Jayalalitha named the house Veda
Nilayam after her mother's death. No
one other than Sasikala knows the
house inside out. It is rumoured that
Jayalalithaa has bequeathed the house
to one of Sasikala's nieces but her will
itself remains untraced. Jayalalithaa's
niece and nephew are already
planning to move court over the
possession of the house where they
too lived till 2002. How is the
government going to take over the
house removing the cobwebs of
litigation surrounding it? Palaniswami
and his government seem to be
sleepwalking into a catastrophe.
Jayalalithaa must be having a
chuckle or two in her grave on the
Marina beach over the happenings. By
the actions of her followers
Jayalalithaa has proved again that she
remains even more of an enigma in
death than in life.