NEW DELHI, March 14: The BJP heaved a sigh of relief mixed with trepidation today: Jayalalitha's letter of unconditional outside support to the BJP arrived this afternoon, once again putting the party in the lead for government formation. The President is now expected to call Atal Behari Vajpayee after he completes the formality of consulting other parties.But the AIADMK chief's letter came with a sting. At a press conference in Chennai, Jayalalitha's dissatisfaction with the BJP was clear. She attacked the BJP for having a ``condescending, patronising and contemptuous attitude'', and said she was extending support only because she was being accused of holding up government formation. She also declared that she would not attend the swearing-in ceremony. ``There is no respect, so why should we go,'' she said.Not just the AIADMK but all its other Tamil Nadu allies, MDMK, PMK, Janata Party (JP) and Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress (TRC), have decided to follow the AIADMK line to give support but stay out of thegovernment. This is a direct outcome of the BJP's refusal to give the finance portfolio to Subramanian Swamy (JP) and law to V Ramamurthy (TRC).Having won the first round, the BJP – which now has the support of 264 MPS – has turned the other cheek and is adopting a conciliatory approach towards Jayalalitha. The finalisation of the national agenda and coordination committee are being delayed so that she can participate in the discussions and ensure that her concerns are reflected in the agenda.While offering ``unconditional'' support, Jayalalitha today repeated her six-point TN package demands. The BJP is likely to concede some demands like permitting 69 per cent reservation in TN and giving freedom to states to set their own reservation quotas. But others like making Tamil an official language, an OBC quota in the women's reservation Bill and Cauvery and Periyar would be put on the backburner, sources indicated.There was a noticeable lack of exhilaration in a party that is on the threshold of power.Today's uneasy truce has increased apprehensions that handling a 22-party coalition which includes volatile leaders like Jayalalitha, Swamy, George Fernandes and Mamata Banerjee, would be a monumental task. Despite Jayalalitha's harsh words about the party, BJP president L K Advani merely said, ``We are gratified that this hurdle (the letter of support) has been overcome.'' Asked if the BJP was reconsidering its decision to stake claim because of Jayalalitha's statement, BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan said, ``There is no view that the BJP should not form a government under these circumstances.'' ``We will request her to come for the swearing-in,'' Mahajan said this evening, while a stock-taking meeting of the BJP and its pre-poll allies was in progress at Vajpayee's residence. None of the AIADMK combine leaders attended the meeting all the MPs were summoned to Chennai by Jayalalitha.Interestingly, the letters of support from the AIADMK and JP were dated March 9. They had been in Delhi all along.These and the letter from the TRC were presented to the President this afternoon after Jayalalitha's go-ahead. The letters from the MDMK and PMK were expected from Chennai and would reach the President tonight, Mahajan said. The delay was because leaders of both parties were in Chennai, he said.Addressing a crowded press conference in Chennai, Jayalalitha singled out Lok Shakti leader Ramakrishna Hegde for his ``rude and obnoxious'' behaviour at the BJP meeting to discuss the national agenda at Delhi on March 9.When asked if she was happy now that she had extended support of the AIADMK and its allies to the BJP, Jayalalitha said, ``No. We are not happy, but in the interest of the public and also because of the charges hurled at us that we are destabilising the nation, denying the mandate of the people and stalling the formation of the government at the Centre for personal reasons, we have decided not to lay ourselves open to harsh and such unfair criticism.'' She said she spoke to Advani on Friday nightand offered support. She said she would not seek the help of the BJP or the next government or anyone else to wriggle out of the corruption cases against her. ``This is only utter falsehood and I deny totally and categorically and challenge anyone to prove that I have sought the BJP's assistance to have the cases against me withdrawn.''Jayalalitha complained that the attitude of the BJP had been ``most distressing to say the least'', pointing out that none of her allies had been invited to attend the March 9 national agenda meeting in Delhi. ``It only shows the great degree of contempt for my allies.''When she started talking about the Cauvery issue, she said, Hegde constantly interrupted her. ``When V. Ramamurthy came to my defence, Hegde was quite rude to him and to me as well. Vajpayee and Advani neither intervened nor pulled up Hegde.''She charged that Hegde was allowed to insult and humiliate them with impunity. ``At the meeting itself the north-south divide was apparent. We got the feelingthat we were being treated like inferiors and second class citizens.''``It was I who went to each hamlet, village and town and asked them to vote for BJP and Vajpayee as Prime Minister. Most of the people have not even heard of Vajpayee. If we got 30 seats in Tamil Nadu, it is because I asked them to vote.'' She claimed that she had been offered the Defence portfolio by Vajpayee.
