Ceasefire mission

The Prime Minister, sources said, has sent Jaswant after his success in the last month8217;s first round of talks when the AIADMK was sitting on its letter of support to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition.

Today8217;s decision comes after Vajpayee personally intervened to urge the warring partners to exercise restraint. The PMO, sources said, got in touch with Jayalalitha and Lok Shakti president Ramakrishna Hegde last night and urged them not to make provocative statements which could jeopardise the government.

As a result the Lok Shakti today tried todownplay its differences with Jayalalitha with a lukewarm criticism of yesterday8217;s shut-up-or-get-out warning by the AIADMK. 8220;We do not want to react to whatever is said against us everyday,8221; party general secretary M Raghupathy said.

Meanwhile, Jaswant Singh, who arrived in Chennai tonight by a private airlines flight, evaded reporters questions on the purpose of the visit saying he had come on a private trip.

However, he conceded he was on a private political visit8217; when asked why AIADMK Headquarters office staff were at the airport to receive him. Jaswant Singh declined to say when he will meet the AIADMK leader.

Sources said Jaswant Singh was likely to meet Jayalalitha at about 3 a.m. on Saturday, but there was no confirmation available. Jayalalitha was staying at a private bungalow in Payanoor about 50 kms from Chennai. She was expected to arrive at her Poes Garden residence later in the night.

Questioned whether the BJP-led government was being blackmailed8217;, Jaswant Singh said 8220;No. I do nothave that feeling.8221;

Asked about the AIADMK union ministers outburst against Hegde, he said 8220;it is a question of their feelings.8221;

Interestingly no BJP leader was at the airport to receive him.He was driven straight to a five-star hotel near Poes Garden by the AIADMK staff.

On another front, as the PMO began its damage control, it is yet to decide on how to handle Subramanian Swamy, part of Jayalalitha8217;s four-party front in Tamil Nadu and seen by many as the prime mover behind the war of words.

Although Vajpayee8217;s political adviser Pramod Mahajan said that that Swamy would not be a member of the planned coordination committee of the alliance, a formal announcement on this is yet to be made, obviously out of nervousness at Jayalalitha8217;s reaction.

BJP spokesman K L Sharma said that since he was one of those who had signed the National Agenda, Swamy is automatically in the coordination committee. 8220;If there are any changes in the future, we will announce them,8221; Sharma said.

However, Swamy8217;spresence in the alliance is an irritant to the other partners. While the Lok Shakti went soft on Jayalalitha, it did not mince its words on Swamy and he was the focus of its attack today.

Raghupathy said his party would not like the Janata Party leader to attend the coordination committee meeting 8220;as he was not a part of the alliance anymore.8221;

When Raghupathy was reminded that Swamy was a signatory to the National Agenda, he referred to the statement made some days ago by Pramod Mahajan political advisor to the Prime Minister, wherein he is reported to have said that Swamy had ceased to be a member of the ruling coalition because he had not voted in favour of the confidence motion moved by Vajpayee.

8220;Moreover, Swamy was not even a party to the deliberations leading to the formulation of the national agenda,8221; Raghupathy added.

Sharma tried to downplay the Swamy controversy, saying the formal composition of the coordination committee would be finalised only after the BJP finishes with its NationalCouncil Meet in Gandhinagar on May 3-4. But he hoped that issues and disputes concerning the coalition partners would be resolved through this forum.

He sought to underplay the controversy surrounding the AIADMK leader8217;s demand for the removal of all chargesheeted ministers by observing that the coalition partners should desist from raising internal issues in public as the remedy for resolving their problems was available at three levels: the coordination committee, the Union Cabinet and, in case of an emergency, the Prime Minister.