Jaya gives Govt a tough time

The AIADMK chief’s stand should be cause for concern for the BJP-led coalition when seen inthe light of current speculation surrounding the political significance of Monday’s tea party hosted by her ally Subramanian Swamy who has invited everyone except BJP leaders for the occasion. Prime Minister A B Vajpayee will also meet her on Monday.

Jayalalitha singled out Fernandes for her attack, raking issue after issue which took the allies by surprise. She demanded a JPC to go into the charges of corruption levelled by Bhagwat against Fernandes but the allies came out strongly in defence of the government.

Saying that the admiral’s sacking had sent out a wrong message to the defence forces, she felt that a JPC inquiry would, in fact, help the government to clear the air. “I see no harm in instituting a JPC probe,” she told the meeting. The allies, she added, should have been taken into confidence before the decision on Bhagwat’s sacking.

Armed with the relevant files, Fernandes took the line that the sacking was done in consonance with the Constitution and the rules flowing from its provisions.He said that he was willing to show the files to prove his point. He also contended that the dismissal was an administrative decision but agreed with the AIADMK chief’s point that the allies should be consulted on major decisions.

The Defence Minister argued that the dismissal was done in the interest of national security and on grounds of insubordination. Jayalalitha then countered that if this was the case, the government should have court-martialled him. Her point was supported by the Shiv Sena’s Madhukar Sarpotdar but other allies said that Fernandes had done well by not resorting to the extreme step.

Barring Jayalalitha, the allies ruled out the constitution of a JPC into the matter which was a case of gross indiscipline in the armed forces. If the demand for a JPC into this instance was conceded, it could become a precedent whenever any government official was sacked from service.

It was left to Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde to end the wrangle between Jayalalitha and Fernandes by suggestingthat the two along with Vajpayee could peruse the files.

But if Jayalalitha did not continue with her insistence on a JPC, she raised other issues like the imposition of President’s rule in Bihar, Fernandes’s statements labelling China as enemy number one, the delay in passing the women’s reservation Bill, amending the Constitution to allow the States to have their own quota of reservation beyond the 50 per cent cap and the setting up of a committee to make all languages listed in the VIIIth Schedule as national languages.

About the imposition of President’s rule in Bihar, she said that the matter should have been discussed in the coordination committee before taking a decision. Home Minister L K Advani specified the reasons which prompted the Government to go in for the step.

When Vajpayee was being lauded for his steps to improve relations with neighbours, the AIADMK chief raked up the old controversy about Fernandes terming China as enemy number one. Advani intervened to say that the statement wasno different from the stand taken by a parliamentary committee headed by CPI veteran Indrajit Gupta. Vajpayee said that relations with both China and Pakistan were indeed improving.