Political realignments are possible, says Fernandes

But he said since the whole issue had become a raging controversy, hewanted to point out that Jayalalitha was not the first person who was saying that a media moghul had been pressing for Bezbaruah’s transfer. He revealed that former Prime Minister Deve Gowda had made exactly the same allegations before Jayalalitha did.

“If you talk to Deve Gowda, he will tell you that his Government was brought down only because he refused to transfer Bezbaruah. Deve Gowda told me in so many words. He spent two hours giving me the whole lowdown one month after he demited office,” he disclosed.

At the same time, he said, he was not admitting that the media moghul had been pressing for the transfer. “I am only saying: why is the media targeting the lady alone?,” he asked. “If the lady is to be targeted, then there are others who have been fighting for this for a long time.”

On his various meetings with the AIADMK chief, Fernandes clarified that the subject of corruption cases had never been discussed between them.

Jayalalitha had been persistently making two demands: thedismissal of the DMK Government and the Cauvery issue.

The meetings, he said, had always been aimed at removing the misunderstandings between the BJP and the AIADMK.

However, the Defence Minister admitted, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has been put through a great deal of strain and pressure in the past few months. “The Prime Minister has been subjected to both mental agony and torture and this would put anyone under great strain,” he said.

He added that among others, even he had “inflicted” the torture on Vajpayee since he had been adamant about not joining the Government.

“I know the sort of strain he underwent at that point,” he said. “The pressures he is subjected to, both within and without, is bound to create fatigue — both physical and mental.”