The ventriloquist with dark glasses

When Karunanidhi says he doesn't want power, he means he doesn't want to share power


Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi is famous for saying something and meaning something else to attain a political goal. So, when the DMK president and captain of the Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) said on Sunday that he was prepared to relinquish power if the allies continued to level "baseless" allegations against his government, he was conveying a different message to the Congress-- that he will not share power, though his party does not have absolute majority in the Assembly. It also meant that the octogenarian was fed up and frustrated with his allies -- first the PMK and now the Congress -- which have increasingly been sounding like the opposition.

Karunanidhi said: "If you want to dethrone us by levelling baseless allegations, I am ready to face the change of power in Tamil Nadu," The warning was to the Congress, which has been making a lot of noise in the Assembly over the government's failure in checking pro-LTTE outfits in the state. For the first time since the DMK came to power with the support of the DPA allies, the Congress walked out of the Assembly demanding action against the Dalit Panthers of India, another ally of the DMK, which has been singing praises of LTTE leader V Prabhakaran. Then came finance minister P Chidambaram's statement on Saturday asking the government to curb LTTE activities in the state.

While the Congress' hatred for anyone supporting the LTTE has historical reasons, its diatribe against the government was not without a buildup of belligerence towards the alliance leader. Only a couple of days before the Congress legislators walked out of the Assembly, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president M Krishnaswamy had made it clear that the party was not happy being just the DMK's scaffold. "The Congress will capture power in the 2011 Assembly elections," Krishnaswamy had said, echoing the sentiments of several Congress leaders whose demand for a share in power in Tamil Nadu Karunanidhi has so far managed to nip in the bud. The Congress leadership in Delhi, too, has finally acknowledged the fact that the party, with 35 MLAs in the 234-member Assembly could claim a share in power when the DMK has only 96 members.

Adding to Karunanidhi's strain is the Congress pressure to silence him on the Sethusamudram project, since his remarks on Ram has done enough harm and the Congress cannot afford to antagonise Hindus at large especially when the likelihood of a mid-term election looms and the BJP is in a buoyant mood. Karunanidhi reads -- and with good reason -- a Congress plot into the statements of Navy chief Sureesh Mehta and National Coast Guard director general RF Contractor on the use and security implication of the Sethusamudram canal.

Even while acting tough with the Congress, Karunanidhi did not hesitate to draw a 'lakshman rekha' for the DPI, promising action against supporters of banned organisations under the UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act. Karunanidhi's offer to let go of power was obviously not an ultimatum; it was quite the contrary: a high decibel manoeuvre in the balancing act of remaining in power without sharing it with his allies.