News
Tamil Nadu’s political leaders still play to the gallery
View(s):
Tamil Nadu (TN) Chief Minister (CM) Jayaram Jayalalithaa, Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) have a lot in common with World Postal Day, International Letter-Writing Day and, of course, the Global Postal Union.
Postmen who used to carry bags of letters way back in the 1960s to 1990s, are with no work. In India, the Postal Dept has stopped recruiting postmen because there is no mail to be distributed. The postman who delivered letters was yet another member of the family. He was the lead character in many short stories and novels, and of course, movies. In this era of instant communication, internet, satellite phones and things like that, most people have given up the habit of letter-writing.
But, there is a ray of hope. There are many instances around us to prove that letter-writing is the most effective tool to make things happen. The organisers of the International Letter Writing Day that falls on September 1, say that, “The nature of letters made them incredibly intimate, as each carried the indelible mark of its creator. Everything from the subtle scents of your home and perfume, to snippings from your garden could be included in a mailed letter. Digital media just doesn’t quite carry the same personal touch as this old method, and Letter Writing Day is an opportunity to remember the wonders of the hand-written word.”
Any doubt? The TN government issued an official release immediately after the GoSL decided early this week to set free 77 TN fishermen who were arrested between May 31 and July 15, by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) for violating the International Maritime Boundary Line and poaching on the Sri Lankan side of the IMBL.
News agencies reported that, the GoSL’s decision to release the arrested fishermen was part of a goodwill measure. With the GoSL announcing it would release all the fishermen as a goodwill measure, a note issued by the TN government said the fishermen were being released because of the untiring efforts by TN CM Jayalalithaa. She wrote 10 letters to PM Modi, highlighting the plight of the fishermen and about the highhandedness of the island nation.
There is no mention by the TN government of the diplomatic initiatives/discussions held between foreign ministry officials of the two countries. To an ordinary person, it would look as if the GoSL’s decision was a fallout from the 10 letters she sent to Modi.
All Jayalalithaa has done to date, to get the arrested fishermen released, was to send letters to PM Modi and release their excerpts to the media. To date, there is no word of the response she has received from Modi.
Whenever something like the arrest of fishermen or, a natural disaster happens, all Jayalalithaa does is to send a letter to the PM.
This was apparent during the floods which ravaged Chennai in December 2015. The relief material sent by the Centre were packed in bags embossed with pictures of Jayalalithaa and distributed as a freebee from the TN government!
TN politics has many parallels to cinema and TV serials. Most of the protagonists of State politics are from cinema and thus, their words and actions resemble the characters and scripts of movies. DMK leader Karunanidhi was a script writer, before venturing into the world of cinema. Annadurai, one of the founders of the DMK, was also a script writer. M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa were the popular hero and heroine. Vijayakant, the struggling politician too is from the celluloid world. They cannot think beyond the script and dialogues of cinema even in politics.
Last week saw an interesting “twist” in the functioning of the TN Legislative assembly. A day’s discussion on the State budget was devoted to, how to address the CM while speaking in the House. The AIADMK members took strong objection to the DMK members’ habit of addressing the CM as just Jayalalithaa. “They should address her as Hon. CM or, as the Hon. Puratchi Thalaivi (Revolutionary Leader),” demanded the AIADMK members, which was ratified by the Speaker of the House. The DMK members had a doubt. “How will you address the former CM?” they asked the Speaker.
Speaker P. Dhanapal ruled there was nothing wrong in addressing the former CM by name. The DMK members, who address Karunanidhi as ‘Kalaignar’ (the ultimate in Arts and Literature), were not amused and expressed their displeasure with a walkout.
Even as the AIADMK members were insisting that the DMK members should address Jayalalithaa only as “Hon. CM”, in the Indian parliament, Congress members under the leadership of the young scion Rahul Gandhi, were ridiculing and lampooning PM Modi for his government’s failure to check the prices of essential commodities. All including the BJP members and the PM himself were seen enjoying the efforts of Congress leaders to evoke laughter at the expense of Modi.
What makes TN different from the rest of India is that, any comment against Jayalalithaa would draw her ire, and she would drag her opponents to court over charges of “criminal defamation”. The Supreme Court on Thursday, while hearing a petition filed by Vijayakant to quash a criminal defamation case filed against him by Jayalalithaa in a Tirupur court, warned the TN government from using defamation cases as a weapon against those who criticise the government. “Anyone calling a government corrupt or unfit cannot be slapped with defamation cases,” said Justices Dipak Misra and R.F. Nariman.