Madam has a point

At the best of times, it may be difficult to agree with Tamil Nadu8217;s Puratchi Thalaivi, much less support her. Her brand of politics can seldom be accused of responsibility; past experience has shown that her biggest cause is herself. Yet, despite the attendant risk, this paper wholeheartedly endorses Jayalalitha8217;s latest political intervention. The army must be immediately deployed to eliminate sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, says the AIADMK supremo. Of course, this is not all. Jayalalitha has also demanded that the Tamil Nadu chief minister, and of Karnataka too for good measure, must resign and President8217;s rule be imposed on the two states. It may be, and it probably is, that her position is motivated by more than righteous indignation at the abject surrender of the government of her own state and that of neighbouring Karnataka to the infamous brigand. Jayalalitha8217;s fiery rhetoric is in all probability guided by nothing more than the irresistible urge to announce her continued relevance and score awell-timed point against arch rival M Karunanidhi in the process. But amid the ongoing farce that continues to monopolise the nation8217;s attention ever since Veerappan spirited away Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar on the night of July 30, her suggestion makes eminent, even if unintended, sense.

This is not the time to ask why Jayalalitha herself failed to bring the fugitive to book when her party was in government. Not the moment either to ask how Veerappan8217;s evil little empire continued to thrive right under the nose of the AIADMK regime, or whether or not he was given a ransom amount to secure the release of those abducted by the brigand when she was chief minister. It is time, instead, to ask that something, anything, be done to call a halt to the prolonged and painful spectacle of a petty thug bringing two state governments to their knees. The governments of Messrs S M Krishna and M Karunanidhi continue to cave in to Veerappan8217;s blackmail without putting up even a show of resistance. High-level meetings of high-ranking officials of both governments only underline the states8217; indecent haste to meet the outlaw8217;s demands. On Tuesday, the Tamil Nadu government revoked the detention of four Tamil extremists under the National Security Act; the revocation makes them eligible to seek bail from trialcourts where they are facing various cases. Of the four, while one belongs to the Tamil Nadu Liberation Army, the other three are members of the Tamil National Retrieval Troops; both outfits are suspected to have thrown in their lot with Veerappan8217;s band. But, it may be asked, has the state bent backward enough to please the brigand and persuade him to release his hostages? Only time, or go-between Gopal, will tell.

Hopefully, Rajkumar and other hostages will soon be free and life will return to normal in the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. But it will be a sad day if this is achieved by the state further prostrating itself at the feet of the outlaw. Jayalalitha is right. Teach the brigand a lesson he and others of his ilk will never forget.