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Journalism of Courage
Transforming a tantrum into a political earthquake
Spare a thought for the people of Delhi. The city is already reeling from the powerlessness that has accompanied the hottest April of this century; but strangely enough it is the realignment in the corridors of power that AIADMK chief Jayalalitha is attempting to effect that has given the city8217;s denizens deep frown lines and sweaty foreheads. When Amma landed in the capital with guarded plans and 48 suitcases in tow, not to mention her treasuretrove of 18 Lok Sabha MPs 8212; she may not have been welcomed on the tarmac by the who8217;s who of Lutyen8217;s Delhi, but make no mistake, they are all aflutter about what surprises she will spring on whom. Congress and Third Front powerbrokers may be flitting between political parleys and Press conferences, detailing their visions for the days to come, but they fool nobody. For, it is Puratchi Thalaivi who will shape the contours of any post-Vajpayee dispensation. And politicians are not the only ones ontenterhooks: her hotel staff will no doubt be on full alert to make sure that the elevator promptly delivers her to her suite and that the sunrays do not refract on to the breakfast table and give the lady from Poes Gardens a migraine.
What accounts for this mystifying clout, this ability to throw her weight around and extract her pound of flesh? Eighteen MPs in an era of single-digit parliamentary majorities is an enticingly easy answer, but clearly not an entirely adequate one. Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that she plays by her own rules and refuses to lose sight of her own importance. And so, on her last trip north of the Vindhyas, it was Sonia Gandhi who stepped down from her pedestal, changed her itinerary and trooped down to have tea with Jayalalitha. The interests of Tamil Nadu and the strategic imperative to testfire the Agni may dominate her missives to the Press, but as she zooms around in her custom-made Tata Sierra, with the strategically placed bulbs, it is a shadow wish list thatdominates negotiations. But since Jayalalitha so adroitly sets the agenda, all concerned have no option but to go along with her heartwrenching worries about the national interest.
