All India Anna DMK general secretary J Jayalalitha today
declared that there was no threat to the Vajpayee
government and it was not facing any crisis.
Talking to newsmen after attending a function in Madras,
Jayalalitha said she had never threatened that her party
would withdraw support to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led
coalition government at the Centre. Party presidium
chairman V R Nedunchezhiyan had made this clear, she
pointed out.
The media was constantly harping on the AIADMK's threat
to or blackmail of the government. Blackmail was a
demeaning term to apply to her party. Moreover, the
AIADMK had nothing to gain by blackmailing the
government, she added.
Asked if the Vajpayee government would last its full
five year term, Jayalalitha said: "I am not an
astrologer."
She said the AIADMK's front-line leaders would receive
Vajpayee when he arrives in Madras on September 15 to
take part in the rally, organised by the Marumalarchi
DMK to celebrate the birth anniversary of the late chief
minister, C N Annadurai.
It was wrong to project the parallel rally organised by
the AIADMK at Tiruchirapalli on the same day, as a
clever move by her to stay away from the MDMK function,
she said.
The AIADMK, being the largest Dravidian party and named
after Annadurai, had been celebrating his anniversary on
September 15 every year. No one could take away the
party's right, she asserted.
Jayalalitha said the MDMK, which she termed as a
"five-year-old child", had never been a rival of the
AIADMK. Its only rival was the ruling DMK, she added.
Meanwhile, the BJP's unpleasant relationship with the
AIADMK is likely to reach a flashpoint on September 15
when Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee attends the
MDMK rally in Tamil Nadu.
Vajpayee, accompanied by Home Minister L K Advani and
other BJP leaders, will participate in the MDMK rally at
Madras, organised to observe Anna's birth anniversary.
But the prime minister's first visit to Tamil Nadu
amounts to openly challenging AIADMK general secretary J
Jayalalitha on her own turf as she is organising a
parallel rally on the same day at Tiruchirapalli.
BJP strategists claimed that the MDMK rally will be an
occasion to "isolate Jayalalitha in Tamil Nadu" and to
bring together all other Dravidian parties including the
ruling DMK under the BJP coalition umbrella.
"A realignment is taking place among the political
parties in Tamil Nadu. But it is too early to predict
how it will affect our coalition government at the
Centre," BJP vice-president O Rajagopal told Rediff On
The NeT.
He said the prime minister's decision to attend the MDMK
rally was not meant "to insult Jayalalitha." "The simple
fact is that Jayalalitha did not invite the BJP leaders
to participate in the AIADMK rally at Tiruchirapalli.
How is the prime minister expected to attend a programme
uninvited?" Rajagopal asked.
He said Vajpayee was a close friend of Annadurai and
therefore it is natural that the prime minister would
attend a programme to celebrate his birthday.
But observers feel the Tamil Nadu rallies are of immense
political significance because the BJP has now emerged
as the prime mover in the state's political realignment.
The BJP leadership anticipates that the MDMK rally will
possibly split the AIADMK front and the MDMK, along with
the PMK and Chief Minister K Karunanidhi's DMK will come
together to form a new front in Tamil Nadu. "Jayalalitha
is emerging as the enemy number one in Tamil Nadu both
for the BJP and all other Dravidian parties," a BJP
leader pointed out.
The MDMK led by VaiKo broke away from the DMK and allied
with Jayalalitha nearly five years back. DMK chief
Karunanidhi's increasing sympathy towards the BJP
coalition government could thus, also lead to a patch-up
between the rivals -- the DMK and the MDMK.
But realising that the BJP leadership is not averse to
the idea of dumping her, Jayalalitha on Tuesday
attempted a hasty retreat from her long-standing threats
to bring down the Vajpayee government.
But many believe Jayalalitha will one again become
aggressive after the MDMK rally on September 15, when
she realises that the AIADMK is being isolated by BJP
and other Tamil Nadu parties.
Analysts say Jayalalitha is now resisting making any
fresh demands and threats to pull down the government,
as her attempts to make peace with Congress president
Sonia Gandhi has apparently failed.
Jayalalitha's threats to withdraw support to the
Vajpayee government on the Cauvery waters row and on
Karunanidhi's dismissal have considerably decreased in
recent weeks.
But the BJP leadership feels its relations with the
AIADMK has reached a point of no return and therefore
the Tamil Nadu rallies will probably change the shape of
its coalition government at the Centre.