On Sunday, a sullen Tamil Nadu chief minister, M. Karunanidhi, used the dais at a private wedding function to lash out at the Congress. The reason for his unhappiness was his ally’s failure to back his government in the face of strident accusations from the AIADMK that Tamil Nadu had become ‘a hunting ground’ for the LTTE again. Worse, according to Karunanidhi, were Congress leaders like P. Chidambaram joining in the blame game, accusing his government of doing precious little in reining in the pro-Tiger outfits. Asserting that he was ready to demit office but not his self-respect, Karunanidhi said: “I am prepared to face anything. But this is not good for you or your future. It is not good for Tamil Nadu or for its people who are living peacefully.” He told his allies that all of them had an equal responsibility to ensure that the country’s interests were not jeopardised.Karunanidhi has been walking a tight rope since his government’s dismissal in January 1991, a few months before Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. His regime was accused of providing logistical support to the LTTE in its mission to assassinate EPRLF leader Padmanabha. Padmanabha and 13 of his supporters were killed in June 1990 by LTTE cadres in Chennai.After coming to power in 1996 on an anti-Jayalalithaa wave, Karunanidhi avoided Tiger company, not wanting a repeat of the 1991 debacle. But the DMK’s indictment by the Jain Commission for its alleged role in Rajiv’s assassination, and the subsequent demand by the Congress for its ouster from the United Front coalition, leading to the fall of the Gujral government, left a huge burden on Karunanidhi’s shoulders. He had to cleanse himself of any pro-LTTE stigma that could damage his political stock. The DMK’s 1999 comeback to central politics in the company of the saffron brigade and its impressive performance in the 2004 Lok Sabha election in alliance with the Congress had led to the party’s political consolidation in the state, also helping it to get unstuck its pro-LTTE image. And, since its victory in the May 2006 assembly election, the DMK has been on an all-time high.But now for the DMK patriarch, the situation has come full circle, with the spectre of the LTTE back to haunt him. Memories of the 1991 dismissal, for ‘encouraging’ the Tigers, continue to be the ugly backdrop of Dravidian politics, providing a handy weapon for the AIADMK.While the Congress is now an ally, any act of the DMK that could even remotely be construed as support to the Tigers, accused of killing Rajiv Gandhi and banned as a terrorist outfit in this country, comes as a major irritant. To add to Karunanidhi’s woes, soon after he came to power, the Tamil Nadu police made a series of seizures of materials meant to be smuggled to the LTTE, also arresting several operatives. The DMK government patted its own back crediting the seizures and arrests to increased vigilance along Tamil Nadu’s porous coast, a convenient stomping ground for smugglers feeding the LTTE.For the Opposition and the Congress, they were an indication of renewed activity by LTTE supporters. Recently, Karunanidhi’s touching tribute to an LTTE leader, Tamilselvan, killed in an aerial attack in Sri Lanka, only added to the Congress ire. The slow collapse of the Norwegian-sponsored ceasefire between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE and the LTTE’s reversals did not help. They only led to the pro-LTTE war cry in Tamil Nadu getting louder. MDMK’s Vaiko, Jayalalithaa’s ally, Tamil National Movement leader, Pazha Nedumaran, and even the DMK’s own ally, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), openly rooted for LTTE leader Prabhakaran.Meanwhile, P.C. Haldar, director of Intelligence Bureau, met Karunanidhi under the cover of presiding over an all-India police orchestra competition. Haldar also happens to be the president of police games control board. While the IB chief’s visit was planned three months ahead, the meeting is seen as an important fallout of the anti-LTTE protests by Congress leaders. And Karunanidhi is back to brushing the LTTE dust off his yellow shawl. jaya_menon@yahoo.com
