Mistrust In Deed

Soon after G.K. Moopanar's death, nobody in Tamil Nadu was talking about his political legacy. The focus was immediately on 12 acres of prime property in the heart of Chennai, valued at over Rs 300 crore. The land, the massive auditorium, the Kamaraj Bhavan shopping complex it houses, the Satyamurthy Bhavan from where the Tamil Maanila Congress currently functions, assets in the Puliyanthope area—all these form part of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee Charitable (tnccc) Trust established by Kamaraj.

The tmc showed its hand immediately after Moopanar's death—it decided to cremate him at the Congress ground that houses the Kamaraj Memorial. As state Congress president, E.V.K.S. Ilangovan, points out, "Even Kamaraj was not cremated there." In Congress circles, this was perceived as a clever move, wrapped in sentiment, to stake claim to the trust property. A memorial for Moopanar for over Rs 1 crore is also on the cards.

In Delhi, Sonia Gandhi, ostensibly advised by Ghulam Nabi Azad and Tamil Nadu Congress leaders, acted equally quickly. On September 2, just four days after the tmc leader's death, she appointed five new trustees to the eight-member tncc Charitable Trust. Peter Alphonse, tmc MP, feels the Congress leadership at the Centre acted in haste: "Even the final rites were not over. Such a gesture pricks us. Couldn't they have had a word with our leader's son (G.K. Govindavasan)?"

But counters Ilangovan, one of the newly-appointed trustees: "The Congress was forced to act. First, they decided to cremate Moopanar in the trust ground; then they elected Govindavasan tmc chief even before the cremation was over. You cannot fault the Congress president for trying to safeguard what is originally Congress property." But in the same breath, he says a merger would be in the best interests of both parties.

The Congress might not have bothered to take G.K. Vasan (Govindavasan's new numerologically-amended name) into confidence, but Sonia's advisors have in a calculated move roped in the tmc's Jayanthi Natarajan who is close to her as one of the trustees. But on this "sensitive issue" Jayanthi's lips are sealed "till the mourning period is over".

Even when Moopanar was alive, the trust property was a major irritant whenever merger moves were on. In fact, ever since Moopanar parted ways with the Narasimha Rao-led Congress in 1996 over the issue of an alliance with Jayalalitha, control over the trust property had been vested with the tmc chief.

With Moopanar's death, there was only one trustee alive: Ramasamy Udayar of Salem. In the last one year, two other trustees, P. Ramachandran and C. Subramaniam, had died. Vazhapadi Ramamurthy of the Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress had already gone to court over the issue of how the trust could be run with only two trustees. "Signatures of at least two trustees are a must for handling the trust's finances," says Udayar. Moopanar's death necessitated new appointees, but not the manner in which it was done.

According to the trust deed, the elected tncc president is the ex-officio chairperson, with seven other trustees being nominated by the "elected working committee" of the party. But in the tncc working committee, not one member has been "elected". In true Congress style, each of them, including the state Congress president, has been nominated by Soniaji.

tmc leaders take offence to reports which suggest that the party was being run with the trust money, but the fact is that it is a central issue. "The rent that accrues from the hundreds of shops at Kamaraj Bhavan itself assures a sum of at least Rs 30 lakh per month," says one of the tenant-shopkeepers. There's more. Last year, the construction of a Rs 110-crore complex in the Congress grounds was approved. "According to the contract, the private builder will own 40 per cent of the building while the rest will be at the trust's disposal. When it comes up, at 16 storeys it will be the tallest building in Chennai," says Udayar. It also means that whoever controls the trust will have a lot more funds in the kitty.