Chennai Corner

Poor little rich boy
Last week former telecom minister A Raja’s assets were in the public domain. Now Tamil Nadu CM has made a dramatic declaration of his assets in the DMK mouthpiece, Murasoli after AIADMK chief Jayalalitha needled him calling him “one of the richest persons in Asia.” According to him, he is a fire that will burn away corruption. And according to the infamous Radia tapes, Niira Radia is heard telling journalist Vir Sanghvi :”I believe Maran (Dayanidhi) has given Rs 600 crores to Dayalu, Stalin’s mother.” And we know Dayalu is Karunanidhi’s wife. Be that as it may.

For the record, he has contested Jayalalitha’s statement that he came to Chennai “without a penny”. “I was the first in the DMK to own a house and a car in Chennai much before I assumed political office,” he says pointing out that he earned a princely sum of Rs 500 back in 1949 from Salem Modern Theatres for his flair for writing. He went onto make a career as a script, screenplays and dialogue writing for 75 Tamil Films. Starting out with Rs 10,000 for the film, Manamagal, he got Rs 25 lakh for last year’s film Ulliyin Osai and earned Rs 60 lakh from the recently-released Penn Singam.

And in a dig at Jayalalitha, he says, “I have never bought any big houses, farms or estates except the humble streethouse in Gopalapuram (for Rs 45,000 in 1955 which he has donated to a trust in his mother’s name for conversion to a hospital after his and his wife’s lifetime). I did not encroach on government lands nor did I get state property at cheap prices.” So, he has approximately 5.66 crores in fixed deposits and Rs 35.90 lakh in his savings bank. Of the Rs 100 crore he got from the Marans for selling his shares in Sun TV, he gave most of it to his children. He kept Rs 10 crore of which Rs 5 crore was given to a trust that underwrites public causes like medical and education fees and support to indigent writers. “I am pained that some journalists believe the defamatory statements of the opposition leader that I am a wealthy man,” he says. Go figure.

A dry run
The DMK union (Labour Progressive Front) may have won the election to transport corporations, but the takeaway from the election – apart from the widespread disruption that took place on polling day as drivers and conductors stayed away from work with impunity while commuters walked home – was that Vijayakanth made the first ever overture to AIADMK’s Jayalalitha. His union dramatically withdrew with three days to go for the polls and supported the AIADMK’s union. The LPF won the largest number of votes and despite Jayalalitha’s call to transport employees to vote for the Anna Thozhirsanga Peravai(ATP), the AIADMK’s union came third.

And that’s what got Tamil Nadu CM Karunanidhi gloating that the DMK’s clean sweep at the transport poll was a precursor to the assembly poll to be held in six months here. But it could be attributed to the same “phenomenon” seen during bypolls (remember the Thirumangalam formula?) where the DMK or its alliance partner won all the seats. It’s unlikely that in the context of the changed political scenario after Jayalalitha garnered the exit of Telecom minister A Raja, her brand equity, which had slumped to a nadir but gone up in recent months, can be written of particularly after Karunanidhi and the Congress are ticking off each other constantly which usually means a relationship is not strong. Recently Congress leaders were put out, when Karunanidhi’s passionate defence of A Raja ended up dragging a Congress luminary into the fray. “Is it fair to adopt one stand against a Brahmin ( T T Krishnamachari, who resigned as finance minister from the Nehru cabinet over the Mundhra scam) and another against a Dalit?” This is the third time, post-Raja exit that Karunanidhi has played the Dalit card even dragging in the name of Jayalalitha (another Brahmin) and the various corruption cases against her.

Incidentally all political parties have asked for a single day poll in the state as opposed to several phases spread over a month as happened in the recent Bihar elections.

Captain calling
The DMDK had eaten into the AIADMK’s vote base in the 2006 Assembly and the 2009 Lok Sabha poll, cornering as much as 8-10 per cent of the vote, thereby helping the DMK win. So far it has exhibited a dog in the manger attitude vis a vis the AIADMK because Vijayakant fancies himself as the “karupu MGR”. But after many of his candidates (the DMDK contested all 39 Lok Sabha seats) lost their deposits, the actor turned politician may have come around to the point of view that only if he goes into the assembly battle with the AIADMK, his party will survive to fight another day. But even so, his chief advisor, Panruti Ramachandran says the DMDK will decide about alliances only in February. But Vijayakant should take into account the popular opinion in his party. As a district-level office bearer of the party, puts it: “Our cadres are eager to see that the DMDK is part of a winning combination. Captain has already said the party is willing for an alliance. We are happy about the strong indication.”

But the Captain still seems inclined to test his strength to decide whether or not to go solo. And that’s why he will hold a rally on Pongal day(January 14) next year in Salem. “I want to retrieve the state from the clutches of darkness,” he declared. Let’s see what the “karuppu MGR’s” next move is.

Playing footsie
Still in the dark, however, is the direction the PMK will take. Both PMK chief Ramadoss and DMK chief Karunanidhi have been flirting with each other in the last few months but have been non-committal. In fact their relationship resembles a lover’s quarrel, they make up and break up constantly. Ramadoss wants to secure the best deal for the PMK. He obviously has not learnt a lesson from the DMK’s royal ditching of his son Anbumani Ramadoss whom the fond father wanted to see back in the Rajya Sabha last June but Karunanidhi put a spoke in the wheel after declaring undying “anbu” for the controversial former union health minister. But what he has learnt is not to burn his bridges with the ruling party or partymen like Kaduvetti Guru will suffer. On October 14, Ramadoss had met Karunanidhi and when he asked about his health, the octogenarian had said in his flowery Tamil, “Naan udambai paarthukiren, neenkal uravai paarthykollungal (I will look after my health and you look after our relationship.” It’s to keep the relationship simmering that PMK president G K Mani met Karunanidhi this week. The CM was quoted by Mani as saying “We need each other.” But as polls approach we will find out if PMK needs the AIADMK more!

Flood of woes
Thirumangalam this monsoon is a metaphor for the Konkani saying, “Kaam zalo, ois melo (loosely translated it means, work of curing is over, who cares if the doctor has died)". Nearly two years ago, Thirumangalam’s denizens were lavished with goodies, including cash, as now union minister M K Azhagiri unleashed his “formula” of  “notes for votes”. The DMK won its first bypoll since the party came to power and indulgent father Karunanidhi discovered the hidden talents of son, Azhagiri. He was to fall back on this formula for the remaining 10 bypolls and each time, voters did not disappoint him.

But Azhagiri was nowhere in the picture as this small town in Madurai district, like many coastal towns, was marooned as tanks overflowed thanks to the incessant rains brought on by the North-East monsoon. “The entire town is submerged,” admitted tahsildar Parameswari. The district administration was forced to order the eviction of encroachments that have mushroomed in the tank bed as well as in the surplus channels over the last few years. The culprits have no political colour, or should I say, are of all political colours. And that’s why politicians get away, because they protect each other.