Vajpayee govt gets breather
AIADMK, allies to continue support

CHENNAI, Aug 13 (PTI, UNI) — The AIADMK front led by Ms J. Jayalalitha today refrained from withdrawing support to the Vajpayee Government though she was authorised by the front to take "an appropriate decision at the appropriate time" on the issue.

"The question of withdrawal of (our) ministers does not arise now", Union Minister V.K. Ramamurthy told reporters at the end of a 90-minute meeting of the AIADMK and its allies with speculation rife that this was the minimum Ms Jayalalitha was expected to do to set the alarm bells ringing.

Today's meeting of the front at her residence after the failure of talks with the Prime Minister's emissaries yesterday turned out to be another round of "sparring" without a "knock-out punch" which Ms Jayalalitha had earlier hinted at as it merely resulted in her being authorised to decide on the issue.

Briefing reporters at the end of the 90-minute meeting, Mr Ramamurthy did not rule out the possibility of another meeting on the issue in the near future, saying "if necessary, we will definitely meet again."

Mr Ramamurthy said the AIADMK front had rejected outright the recent accord reached on the Cauvery waters issue.

The other leaders of the AIADMK's alliance parties were also present at the briefing.

The meeting was convened by Ms Jayalalitha to discuss the issue of reviewing support to the Vajpayee Government following the Centre's decision to notify the new scheme evolved in consultation with the chief ministers of four riparian states at a meeting with Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee last week.

The notification ignored the threat of reviewing support by Ms Jayalalitha who insisted on the acceptance of the original draft scheme, saying the new scheme was detrimental to the interests of Tamil Nadu.

AIADMK leader Nedunchezhiyan and leaders of alliance partners like Dr Subramanian Swamy (Janata Party), Dr S. Ramadoss (PMK) and Mr Vaiko (MDMK) were also present when Mr Ramamurthy briefed the press on the outcome of the meeting.

After the meeting, all leaders left in one car.

Meanwhile, two top Congress leaders, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Janardhan Reddy and former union minister Jagdish Tytler, arrived in the city, strengthening speculation that they were here to give an assurance to Ms Jayalalitha about an alternative government at the Centre.

Mr Reddy told a private television channel here that the Congress would not shirk its reponsibility, if it was called upon to form a government after the fall of the Vajpayee Government.

Front sources said before the meeting that there was no unanimity among the allies on the issue of pulling out of the Vajpayee Government as some of the allies would not be "comfortable" in a set-up headed by the Congress.

Union Minister M. Thambidurai who along with Mr Kadambur M.R. Janardhanam was present at the meeting, declined to say anything on the nature of the deliberations.

Going by the briefing, it appeared that the Vajpayee Government had got a breather for the time being as a decision was only deferred.

The meeting heightened media interest with even Delhi-based correspondents of leading US papers descending on Poes Garden.

A large number of partymen and curious passersby stayed put outside Ms Jayalalitha's residence when the meeting was going on and refused to leave even after the formal briefing by Mr Ramamurthy.

NEW DELHI: The Congress today denied that it had sent any emissary to Chennai to meet AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha seeking her party’s support in the formation of a Congress-led government at the Centre in case she decided to pull out of the Vajpayee Government.

Party spokesperson Girija Vyas said this when asked by reporters to comment on reports from Chennai suggesting that certain senior Congress leaders had been sent there to meet Ms J. Jayalalitha.

Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Sharad Pawar, and senior party leader Arjun Singh suggested that the situation was still unclear as regards the stand of the AIADMK-led front.

"Hypothetical situations will get only hypothetical answers", Mr Arjun Singh said.

Mr Pawar said the party had so far not got any "authentic" information on the developments in Chennai and that he expected some "definite" information later.

Transfer sops for Jaya
From Shubhabrata Bhattacharya
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Aug 13 — Skating on thin ice the Atal Behari Vajpayee-led Government seems to have bought breathing space, at least till Monday.

Frantic efforts are being made to keep the house of cards from falling apart. Ms Jayalalitha had been unhappy with officers of the Union Finance Ministry’s Department of Revenue. The first salvo in the present crisis had been fired when the Minister of State for Revenue, Mr R.K. Kumar, who belongs to the AIADMK, was made to resign two months ago on "grounds of health".

Today, when the Director of Enforcement, Mr M.K. Bezbaruah, was transferred without his successor being named, observers felt that a belated implementation of one of Ms Jayalalitha’s initial desires has been carried out.

It remains to be seen if the Revenue Secretary, Mr N.K. Singh, remains in his job for long. While transferring Mr Bezbaruah back to his parent cadre, Union Territories, the Government today used the one-day transport strike in the national Capital as the ruse — it was said that Delhi’s Chief Minister, Mr Sahib Singh Verma, had asked for a senior and competent officer to handle the transport tangle and thus Mr Bezbaruah was being made Delhi’s Transport Commissioner.

Observers also see Ms Jayalalitha’s "blessings" behind the appointment of Mr P.S. Subramaniyam as the new Chairman of the Unit Trust of India (UTI). Thus moves to appease the lady from Chennai have been initiated. However, the question still remains if she would replace her present frown and smile at Mr Vajpayee.

President Ronald Reagan used to say in American politics: "Read my lips". Mr George Fernandes and Mr Pramod Mahajan, who were sent to Chennai yesterday, tried to read Ms Jayalalitha’s lips. The strategic transfer of officers of the Union Government is seen as a sequel to this.

The news of Ms Jayalalitha’s decision not to pull the rug today caused the share market to look up. To this extent on the eve of Independence Day the Government can claim that it had been on sound footing. But this apart, there is no reason for cheer.

Observers feel Ms Jayalalitha will tax the patience of the BJP leadership. She may politically "bleed" the ruling alliance before finally stepping out. She has only given a temporary reprieve, to enable the Independence Day weekend to get over without an apparent crisis. The drama may well begin soon thereafter, from August 17 onwards.

The "red button", however, is controlled neither by Mr Vajpayee nor Ms Jayalalitha. Willy nilly it is in the hands of the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi. Thus the question as to how long the Government will last can best be answered by the lady of 10 Janpath. She is not keen to upset the applecart. However, if the apples rot, can the cart be safe — in other words, if the government "collapses" can Mrs Sonia Gandhi refuse to heed to the numerous requests being sent to her by non-BJP parties?