She's Back!
One must say that while most politicians bore you with their clichéd utterances -- “I’m a loyal soldier of the party”, “I’ll resign from politics if xyz charges are proved”, “I’ve been misquoted” -- Jayalalitha brings a refreshing, albeit very convent school element into her quote-a-day. No stock phrases for her, but graphic, evocative, sometimes even flowery language is what she spouts. For instance, she has labelled the just-concluded tour by 10 DMK-Congress-VCK MPs to the camps that hold IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) -- there are 2.53 lakhs since the war with the LTTE ended in May this year -- as “a guided tour.” She’s called the team a “bogus delegation” who are out to make Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse “a victim of subterfuge who would be rolling out the red carpet under the mistaken impression that they were official delegates of the Indian government.” Then, she has wondered whether the delegation would get to see the real camps where Tamils were “interned in abominable conditions” or would be shown specially-created camps where “dummy refugees will be shown living a life of luxury and leisure.” Turning on the CM, she has accused Karunanidhi “and his cohorts” of trying to take the “entire Tamil race for a ride” through the visit. Phew!