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STATES: TAMIL NADU
Amma's Rabri
Silent and obedient, Paneerselvam is proving the
perfect puppet for Jayalalithaa
—By Arun Ram
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POWER PERCH: The new chief minister has
the throne, not the authority
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Remote control: Control, as by radio signal,
of operation from a point some distance removed.
Puppet: A small-scale figure, as of a person
or animal, usually with cloth body and hollow head that fits over and
is moved by the hand.
If Webster's is
anything to go by, O. Paneerselvam is more of a puppet than a remote-controlled
chief minister. For, the ousted chief minister J. Jayalalithaa needs no
remote control to run the government; she has the chief minister at the
far end of the short strings she holds. The 51-year-old Thevar from Periyakulam,
Paneerselvam visits Amma at her Poes Garden residence before and after
office in Fort St George, not to brief her on what he has done, but to
be briefed on what he should do.
The September 21 quashing by the Supreme Court
of Jayalalithaa's appointment as chief minister has seen the rise of the
least known chief minister the state has ever had. Within a week in the
office, Paneerselvam has risen to the puppeteer's expectations. He is
silent, obedient and as intelligent as a puppet can be. In his first interaction
with the media after taking charge, the former revenue minister admitted
he was "only a temporary chief minister". "Amma is the
goddess," he proclaimed. He couldn't have spoken differently. "This
is a temporary setback for me," Jayalalithaa had said after the apex
court ruling. "I will be proved innocent and will become the chief
minister again."
For the "interim" chief minister, meanwhile,
all roads lead to Poes Garden. On his first day at work, Paneerselvam
drove from his Greenways Road residence to Poes Garden. A few hours later,
at lunch break, the chief minister's convoy traversed the route from the
Secretariat to Poes Garden. The evening was no different: it was destination
Amma after work. "The chief minister signs even the least important
file only after consulting Amma," says an AIADMK source. Jayalalithaa,
of course, is pleased with Paneerselvam's performance.
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Paneerselvam drops by at Poes Garden
every day not to brief Amma on what he has done but to be briefed
on what he should do.
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However, adverse media reports on the new chief
minister's old links with the Sasikala family haven't amused Jayalalithaa.
Insiders confirm that Paneerselvam-"never very ambitious and always
a low-profile loyal"-was selected by Jayalalithaa in consultation
with Sasikala. "But this is nothing new," says one official.
"Amma consults Chinnamma (Sasikala) for virtually everything. She
even selects Amma's dress."
However, there are rumours in party circles
that Jayalalithaa may replace Paneerselvam after a few months just to
send the message that she is still the deciding authority. Paneerselvam
might not be Sasikala's dummy, but his close ties with Sasikala's nephew
T.T.V. Dinakaran are well known. Paneerselvam's assembly seat falls in
the Periyakulam Lok Sabha constituency represented by Dinakaran.
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PAYING OBEISANCE: While
Paneerselvam may be Jayalalithaa's proxy, it was his closeness to
Sasikala (right) and her nephew that elevated him to the seat of
power
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Paneerselvam has the unenviable task of walking
the tightrope-remaining in the good books of the Mannargudi clan to which
Sasikala belongs while continuing as Jayalalithaa's avowed yes man. And
if it comes to splitting his loyalty between the two women, he might find
the going tough. This is likely if Jayalalithaa were to stay away from
the chief ministership for long, and there are enough indications that
the cases may not end as early as she expects them to. Especially after
the Supreme Court has ordered a fresh hearing of appeals in the tansi
land deal by a new high court judge only after October 1.
Though the AIADMK supremo does not face any
immediate dissent on Paneerselvam's selection, senior ministers were not
too enthused by the decision. Says an AIADMK official: "It was expected
that she would opt for a weak person. For the time being, it is okay.
But if he continues to hold office, disagreements can crop up."
Paneerselvam, on his part, is giving the impression
of an obedient servant carrying forward Jayalalithaa's initiatives. "The
administration may not suffer because the new chief minister is not as
good as the former one," says a senior official, "as every decision
continues to be taken by Jayalalithaa." But the claim that the administrative
affairs have proceeded smoothly during and after the change of guard has
several chinks. The September 22 meeting convened by the Centre to discuss
the Cauvery water-sharing issue among the four riparian states had to
be postponed. Paneerselvam had taken charge only the previous day and
the state Government expressed its difficulty in participating in the
meet.
Paneerselvam has, however, signed a couple of
orders. Says an official in the Chief Minister's Office: "The first
three months of this government were crucial, with all the vital files
regarding expenditure and development having already been signed by Jayalalithaa.
The new chief minister has to see only the implementation of various schemes
initiated by his predecessor."
C.K. Gariyali, handpicked by Jayalalithaa to
be her secretary, agrees. "A strong foundation has been laid for
development work for the next five to 10 years. Jayalalithaa has done
a professional job in the first three months and the administration is
the best in the country." Even if Gariyali is to be believed, will
the administration continue to work efficiently with the ad hoc set-up?
Much depends on how cautious Paneerselvam is in maintaining his puppet
image. If a prolonged stay on the throne of power tempts him to take decisions,
he will have to go. After all, puppets are not in short supply in the
130-odd AIADMK Legislature Party.
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