April 27, 1998

Jayalalitha's salvo is the latest in a series of crises facing the Government.

By Harinder Baweja with Javed M Ansari

It is for the Prime Minister to decide,'' is a statement that the BJP spokesperson has had to use once too often in the three weeks since Atal Bihari Vajpayee became prime minister. The curt one-liner, delivered nervously, has in fact become synonymous with a crisis. For the Government it is already more than just a case of teething trouble.

If Vajpayee heaved a sigh of relief after securing the resignation of AIADMK minister S.R. Muthiah, it was indeed a case of exulting too early. Last week, Communications Minister Buta Singh found himself in exactly the same predicament as Muthiah's. Equally embarrassed for that matter was Vajpayee, who was informed while on a trip to Bhubaneswar that the Supreme Court had given its go-ahead for the prosecution of Singh in the interminable JMM bribery case.

It is more than just a case of two wickets down in three weeks. If the BJP-led Government looks shaky, it is not merely because the law is catching up on some people's pasts. Its woes have a lot to do with the foot-in-the-mouth disease afflicting some coalition partners. As much as accidental indiscretions, the problems are caused by design.

AIADMK leader J. Jayalalitha -- who first applied pressure by delaying her letter of support to Vajpayee -- is behaving more like a recalcitrant satrap than a faithful ally. Continuously reiterating her demand of not resting until the DMK Government of M. Karunanidhi is dismissed, she embarrassed Vajpayee within hours of Muthiah's resignation by suggesting that all Union ministers facing prosecution should follow suit. The same set of rules should apply uniformly, she demanded. Apart from Buta Singh, she was pointing an accusing finger at Home Minister L.K. Advani, Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Minister of State for Human Resource Development Uma Bharati, all charged in the Ayodhya demolition case. The court's decision in the JMM case will only give her further ammunition.

Not that her powder has run dry. Urban Development Minister Ram Jethmalani, who is still to stomach the indignity of yielding the law portfolio in favour of Jayalalitha's nominee, created more trouble for Vajpayee by replying spiritedly to one of her many demands. "Some people become humble and chastened when they come out of jail while some others become arrogant and irresponsible and cannot distinguish between right and wrong," he said.

Quick at biting the bait, Jayalalitha responded quite characteristically. Even before the Government could mull over the ramifications of the JMM verdict came the news that the three AIADMK ministers had issued a joint statement that, in effect, put a fresh question mark over the longevity of the Government. Criticising both Jethmalani and Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde, who had made similar comments about Jayalalitha, the three ministers -- Minister of State for Finance R.K. Kumar, Law Minister Thambi Durai and Minister of State for Personnel R. Janarthanan -- forcefully reminded not just the Jethmalani-Hegde duo but also the prime minister not to forget that the Government came into existence because of the support of 27 MPs controlled by Jayalalitha.

The intensity of the blast from Chennai owed a great deal to the clean chit given by Special Secretary (Home) Ashok Kumar to the DMK Government. On a fact-finding mission to Tamil Nadu, Kumar unilaterally declared -- after a stroll on Marina beach -- that the law and order in Tamil Nadu had, in fact, improved. Next morning, Advani conveyed his displeasure to Kumar through Home Secretary B.P. Singh for speaking out of turn, but it was too late for damage-control. By then North Block was replete with accusations that the home minister had wilfully authored the latest crisis. This, in turn, fuelled speculation of a fresh round in the Advani-Vajpayee duel.

There was little time for either to delve into this aspect. On his arrival from Bhubaneswar, Vajpayee commissioned Political Adviser Pramod Mahajan to initiate an appeasement drive. The first thing Mahajan had to do was find out whether the statement issued by the AIADMK ministers was in fact a precursor to their resignations. Or was it yet another instance of Jayalalitha demanding her pound of flesh in the form of more posts -- in the Union ministry and as governors? Jayalalitha, it was evident, was thinking ahead: five AIADMK Rajya Sabha members retire on May 17 and will be replaced by DMK members, given the latter's strength in the Assembly. Ideally, she would love a dissolution of the Assembly before the Rajya Sabha poll. Her demand for another Central team to Tamil Nadu, led by the home secretary is aimed at this direction.

In the battle of brinkmanship that has come to mark the Government, Vajpayee has much to worry about. Especially since he has ministers as loquacious and indiscreet as Jethmalani and Hegde. He is not in a position to anticipate who will say what next, and with what consequences. Leaving the prime minister to not merely "decide", but to pick up the pieces as well.

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