Jaya closes in, BJP pushes POT(A) luck

After Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa extended her support to POTA during the joint session of both Houses of Parliament last year...

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After Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa extended her support to POTA during the joint session of both Houses of Parliament last year, members of the NDA Government chorused that ‘‘there would be no misuse of the law’’ when the Opposition expressed fear about the same. A year down the line, it is the BJP which is seeking safeguards to prevent a misuse of POTA.

The most vocal among those who have vouched for the setting up of a mechanism to check misuse of POTA today is none other than BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu: the provocation being Jayalalithaa’s threat to arrest Union Minister of State for Non-conventional Energy and MDMK treasurer M. Kannappan.

Naidu called on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee last evening and discussed the matter.

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Kannappan and Minister of State Gingee Ramachandran, also from the MDMK, met both the Prime Minister and Naidu to seek their support in the wake of the offensive from Jayalalithaa. Naidu has since kept the pot boiling by subsequently meeting Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani this morning and speaking to Law Minister Arun Jaitley on the issue.

Naidu told reporters today, ‘‘There is a need to evolve a mechanism to ensure that there is no misuse of POTA.’’ He felt that any delay in putting the mechanism in place would only encourage an opposition to POTA, which is not in national interest.

Naidu’s worries stem from a DMK plan to launch an agitation to press for a repeal of POTA from December 1. The DMK, a constituent of the NDA, plans picketing at all taluka headquarters in Tamil Nadu. Notwithstanding Naidu’s sympathetic moves here, DMK chief M. Karunanadhi declared while talking to reporters at Chennai today that he would go ahead with the agitation.

Karunanidhi, according to agencies, said in the same breath that the Prime Minister should not allow Kannappan to be arrested. He added that the Centre had committed a ‘‘mistake’’ by allowing the arrest of MDMK chief Vaiko under POTA.

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All this hectic activity has been attributed to the letter written by Jayalalithaa to Vajpayee last month, urging him to drop Kannappan from his ministry so that she may take ‘‘suitable action’’ against him for supporting the LTTE, a proscribed organisation.

The minister has, on the other hand, told Vajpayee and Naidu that he had only offered moral support to the LTTE, which was struggling for the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils, in the course of his September 16 speech, which was the basis of Jayalalithaa’s demand.

Given that the AIADMK leader had written a similar letter against Kannappan to Vajpayee on August 2, 2002 as well, the issue is different from what it seems to be on the surface.

According to sources in the BJP, Jayalalithaa is in a subtle manner pushing the BJP into a corner where it is forced to choose either of the Dravida parties as its ally for the Lok Sabha polls. The DMK and the BJP have totally different views on POTA and it suits Jayalalithaa to highlight this contradiction in their alliance.

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The DMK’s plan to hold the agitation has not gone down well with BJP leaders from the state. National party secretary L. Ganesan has already stated that it is ‘‘not proper’’ for the DMK to stage a protest against a government of which it is a constituent. He has gone on record to underline the need for a clarity in their relationship before the next Lok Sabha polls.

Karunanidhi, however, is keeping his cards close to his chest. He told reporters that elections are one year away and the party is in hurry to take a stand on the matter. Jayalalithaa, left to herself, would obviously not wait long enough to try isolating him from the BJP at the Centre.