At last, Prime Minister and AICC president Mr. P V. Narasimha Rao has decided to provide the much needed relief for the TNCC nay for Tamilnadu itself. For quite some time now and more particularly during the last few days, Mr. Vazhapadi Ramamurthy’s unbridled utterances had reached ridiculous levels and Mr. Narasimha Rao had no alternative but to strike. Notwithstanding the fact this should have been done quite some time back when Mr. Ramamurthy presented the PM with several such opportunities, the move though belated is certainly welcome.
When Mr Ramamurthy took over as TNCC chief from Mr G.K. Moopanar, he was a staunch supporter of the Congress-AIADMK alliance. In fact that was the plank on which he made it to the TNCC top slot. That he should turn out to be a vociferous critic of the AIADMK government headed by Ms Jayalalitha for reasons more personal than political, went much to the disadvantage of the Congress than to the TN Chief Minister. This was amply borne out by repeated Congress debacles at the various byelections held in the State recently. While it lost a Parliamentery constituency to the AIADMK, it had also to face the ignominy of losing its deposit on a few occasions.
In fact, in the Ranipet Assembly byelection, it was Mr Ramamurthy who entered into a tacit understanding with the PMK and DMK to ‘covertly’ withdraw the official Congress candidate on health grounds, an act that did not befit a national party. His efforts to forge an alliance with DMK and PMK, the parties which he himself had accused on several occasions of having links with LTTE and thereby responsible for Rajiv’s assassination, gives the lie to his claim that the Prime Minister is acting against the Nehru family.
The fact that the ban on LTTE was extended despite the TNCC and more owing to Ms Jayalalitha’s persistent efforts, did not do the TNCC chief much credit. The contribution of the State Congress in securing the legitimate rights of the underprivileged for reservation is nil. He was caught on the wrong foot when he announced his decision to lower the party flag at TNCC headquarter if Mr Narasimha Rao came for the Tamil conference. The suggestion, undoubtedly an assault on decency, was so revolting that even critics of Ms Jayalalitha and Mr Narasimha Rao came out openly against it forcing Mr Ramamurthy to beat a retreat. His open revolt against the High Command and his interview in a daily comparing Mr Narasimha Rao to Gorbachev of erstwhile USSR were the last straw.
It is quite obvious that the TNCC under Mr Ramamurthy has succeeded in alienating itself from the people on almost every issue. His pendulum-like tendency to swing from one extreme to the other has adversely affected the party’s fortunes and eroded its credibility in the State. Mr Ramamurthy’s claim that he was not extended any cooperation is at most a rude joke. On the contrary, it was only because he was allowed to function the way he did that the Congress today finds itself in such an abyss.
By axing Mr Ramamurthy Mr Narasimha Rao has only corrected an aberration. It is by no means a lasting solution to the numerous ills that plague the State unit of the party. Mr Ramamurthy leaves a none-to-impressive inheritance to his successor Mr Kumari Anandan and the latter would do well to steer clear of the ‘suicidal’ policies of the former, especially the mindless opposition to TN Chief Minister Ms Jayalalitha which has already cost the Congress dearly.
The initiative for this must come from the Prime Minister who must issue a clear directive to his party men not to indulge in sabre-rattling against Ms Jayalalitha. And he must lose no time in proceeding to remove the ‘other irritants’ however ‘high’ they may be from the TN political scene.
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