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RETURN
OF THE TIGER With Vaiko out on bail and POTA as the main election plank, the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu is determined to teach Jayalalithaa a lesson. India Today's Arun Ram looks at the recharged scenario. TSenthil
Nathan of Tambaram on the outskirts of Chennai has a penchant for black
but he doesn't wear black to work. So his mother was surprised when Senthil,
clad in a black shirt, left home in the early hours of February 7. As
he was walking out of the door, the mother saw behind his shirt a picture
that adorns his bedroom too. Smiling broadly from the black shirt was
Vaiko. The election
campaign was kicked off immediately with impromptu wayside meetings held
on the way from Vellore to Chennai. Later, when Vaiko met DMK leader M.
Karunanidhi at his residence, neither of them hid his emotions. After
the high-wattage reunion, there lay ahead for the leaders days of extreme
challenges and opportunities. No doubt,
Vaiko's release on bail has given a major boost to the DMK-led Democratic
Progressive Alliance. In a recent interview to India Today, Karunanidhi
had made it clear that the alliance would highlight "the gross misuse
of POTA by the Jayalalithaa government." What else could the DPA
have as its mascot for this protest than Vaiko, whom the alliance would
project as the most celebrated victim of POTA misuse? As per the
conditions of the bail, Vaiko is restrained from talking on the POTA case,
but that doesn't stop him from debating on the Act itself. Even if some
future restrictions are imposed, the party cadres feel his silent presence
will add a roar to the DPA's election machine. "The mood is so upbeat
that people all over the state are waiting to catch a glimpse of Vaiko,"
MDMK spokesperson Nanmaran told India Today a little while after Vaiko's
release. "All bails have conditions and so has this one. Vaiko is
restrained from speaking on the LTTE and the POTA case against him. That
doesn't mean he cannot speak on the Act itself." The Congress
would be more comfortable speaking against the BJP and its Central leadership,
but indications are that the campaign will end up a Jayalalithaa-bashing
blitzkrieg. DMK leaders say that POTA will be the highlight at all campaign
meetings which Vaiko would attend. And that, predictably, will end up
as a scathing attack on Jayalalithaa. On his part,
Vaiko would have anticipated some of the restrictions he would have to
abide by even if he is freed on bail. The firebrand orator that he is,
Vaiko has been arguing the case himself in the POTA special court, driving
home his point from inside the courtroom. A day after eight of his party
colleagues accused of similar offences were released on bail, Vaiko moved
his bail application on January 13. When the prosecution filed its counter
on January 21 contending that the court should not "sacrifice the
security of the society on the altar of individual liberty," Vaiko
rose to deliver a speech, which he was sure, would go beyond the walls
of the courtroom. "I have dedicated my life for the welfare of Tamil
Nadu and India. I am the only political leader to have visited the homes
of all the Kargil victims. How could I be labelled as a security threat?"
He went on to argue that the Tirumangalam meeting on June 29, 2002, was
organised to celebrate the ninth anniversary of the MDMK and was not in
support of the LTTE. Even while pleading that his Tirumangalam speech
should be read in its entirety, the fiery leader said, "I do not
deny what I spoke. I will not deny what I have spoken." Vaiko's release
has given a new lease of life to the MDMDK cadres, who, after the prolonged
incarceration of their leader, were turning disheartened. Vaiko's arrest
at the Chennai airport was as loud an affair as his release 19 months
later. But nobody expected Vaiko to be in prison for such a long time.
With corruption charges against one of its Union ministers and a general
inertia among the MDMK leadership in the absence of Vaiko, the party was
going through the worst of times. Vaiko, who refused to apply for bail,
must have realised the need for his presence among the cadres, especially
when the election was fast approaching. The Supreme Court direction that
bail applications of POTA detenus who had served more than a year in prison
should be considered, and the eventual release of eight MDMK functionaries
on January 11 were reasons enough for Vaiko to seek bail. After a couple
of postponements, when the Special Court finally granted conditional bail
to him on February 3, Vaiko was not happy with the conditions. He refused
to file an affidavit abiding by the 13 conditions - which included one
that he should not move out of Chennai city limits - and preferred to
approach the Madras High Court. On February 4, the High Court eased some
of the conditions. Vaiko can now leave the city limits with permission
from the Special Court. Another fallout
of Vaiko's imprisonment has been the renewed emotional ties between him
and Karunanidhi. Vaiko broke into tears when Karunanidhi called on him
at the POTA Special Court at Poonamallee on February 4. The DMK leader,
who had to wait for half-an-hour had gone there to persuade Vaiko to seek
bail. "I knew he would not accept the conditions and would reject
the bail offer," said Karunanidhi. Though facilitated by situations
and catalysed my emotions, the cementing of the Karunanidhi- Vaiko brotherhood
has added fuel to the anti-Jayalalithaa Dravidian parties' campaign. Speaking from Chicago a couple of days before his arrival at the Chennai airport on January 11, 2002, Vaiko said about his imminent arrest: "It will be an interesting experience." For Vaiko's die-hard fans like Senthil Kumar, his release, too, was just as interesting. So will be the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. |
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