Arun Jaitley meets Jayalalithaa, invites wrath and suspicion from political parties
Though there was no official announcement from the BJP but the AIADMK was quick to publicise the meet. "It was a courtesy call and Jayalalithaa extended a warm welcome to the visiting leader," AIADMK said in the party press release, issued along with a photograph.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's 40-minute meeting with former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and the AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa has generated a political backlash in the state. Jaitley who was on a two-day visit to Chennai on Sunday, January 18 called on Jayalalithaa at her Poes Garden residence late in the night.
Though there was no official announcement from the BJP but the AIADMK was quick to publicise the meet. "It was a courtesy call and Jayalalithaa extended a warm welcome to the visiting leader," AIADMK said in the party press release, issued along with a photograph.
Jayalalithaa, who was convicted by a Bangalore special court in a disproportionate assets case, was sent to jail on last September 27 and spent 22 days at the Parapanahara prison there. The special court sentenced her to four years of simple imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs. 100 crore. Along with Jayalalithaa, her close aide Sasikala and the later's relatives V.N Sudhagaran and J Ilavarasi were also sent to jail and were fined Rs.10 crore each. Jayalalithaa and others were granted bail by the Supreme Court on October 17 and all of them got released and reached Chennai on October 18. The Supreme Court, while granting bail to all four, had directed the Karnataka High Court to finish off their appeals within five months. Accordingly, a single judge special bench was constituted and Justice C.R. Kumaraswamy is hearing the arguments on a day-to-day basis. Ever since October 18, Jayalalithaa has not ventured out of her Poes Garden residence even once. It was exactly on the 9th day of her self-made exile that Jayalalithaa gave appointment to Jaitely.
The meeting has invited wrath from major political parties in the state. DMK chief M Karunanidhi has condemned the meeting and said that it proved the long time famous saying in Tamil that the cat is out of the bag. He wondered how a senior minister like Arun Jaitely could meet Jayalalithaa, convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment. He said that the people of the state are still under suspicion about the Income Tax case in which Jayalalithaa got relief ostensibly at the behest of Arun Jaitley. "Even before that suspicion in the minds of the people is getting cleared Jaitley has visited Jayalalithaa and the media reports suggest that the visit has the blessing of the Prime Ministers and this creates a feeling that whether the PM himself is a party to these sort of happenings?" asked Karunanidhi. DMK's official spokesperson TKS Elangovan, while condemning the meeting, further added that with Jaitley had indeed degenerated the position of a union minster.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President E.V.K.S. Elangovan has also criticised the meeting. "How can a union minister go and meet a person who was convicted in a corruption case and still out on bail? The BJP which came to power on an anti -corruption platform just seven months ago is now thoroughly exposed and its mask thrown to the winds. Jayalalithaa, who opposed the insurance bill when it was introduced during the Congress rule, is now supporting the same. This proves the fact that Jayalalithaa has totally surrendered to the BJP" lambasted Elangovan, while talking to India Today. Even the NDA partner in Tamil Nadu, the Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK condemned the meeting. "Why should a central minister meet a convicted person? It's highly condemnable and gives rise to suspicion... Centre should explain" said Dr.S.Ramadoss, founder of the PMK.
However, the state unit of the BJP is unfazed. It maintains that the meeting was just a courtesy call and one aimed at gathering support for the Centre's various welfare measures and schemes in the Parliament. "The BJP high command has appealed to all the political parties, including the Congress, to support the people welfare bills in the Parliament. It's a fact that we don't have a majority of our own in the Rajya Sabha and hence we are soliciting support from even smaller political parties which have just one or two MPs. The meeting will not alter the state BJP's political attitude towards the AIADMK govt and the ruling party in the state" says Tamilisai Sounderarajan in a telephonic talk with the India Today. It may be recalled that the state BJP is adopting a tough attitude towards the AIADMK govt on several issues by launching various struggles against it during the past several months.
The AIADMK which swept the 2014 Lok Sabha polls single-handedly and without having any coalition partners had bagged 37 out of 39 seats in Tamil Nadu. It has 11 Rajaya Sabha MPs. The AIADMK's Dr.M. Thambithurai is the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha. With its 48 MPs in the Parliament the AIADMK constitutes the third largest block and its support for any of the bills has become crucial for the NDA govt in case of a joint session.