The present DMK government in Tamilnadu should have been consigned to history long back for its criminal negligence that allowed bomb-laden terrorists to walk unchecked in the state to work havoc on people and property. It is not that the DMK’s proclivity to find common cause with criminal elements, be it the dark underbelly of the society as represented by the likes of Veerappan, the gun-toting maniacs of the LTTE or the bomb-happy fanatics of the Al-Umma, is a secret.
But what is appalling is the fact that a government and a party, with such a cherished track record of immunity to criminal activities should find itself firmly in saddle with not a soul in the ruling establishment in Delhi even bothering to examine the pros and cons of the demands for removal of this regime.
L.K.Advani, the most honourable HM, was able to become one because he happened to survive the bomb blasts in Kovai, that were actually targetted at him. The rational CM, however claims that it was he who saved Advani though it beats one why he was not able to save the fifty innocents who perished. Nevertheless, be it Advani’s luck or the CM’s pluck, the fact remains that the VIP survivor of the Kovai carnage was a personal witness to the exhibition of criminality and the gory death dance that was on parade purely owing to the ruling party’s Nelson’s eye.
Now the question is, what has this providential survivor of the serial blasts done to follow up on the precarious security situation in the state that very nearly short circuited his life? Precious little, unfortunately. Besides sending a dreamy team of officials who thought that the best way to assess the security threat to the people of the state was to take a casual stroll down the lawns and sands of the Marina, can the Home Minister, the great survivor, narrate what other efforts he had initiated to get to the bottom of the tragedy, that he himself was a witness to?
And having disowned his own officials’ shameful modus operandi vis-a-vis assessment of the situation in the state, what has Advani done to reasses the scenario? Once again nothing. Then how is it that the BJP has come to the conclusion that Tamilnadu is not a fit case for the use of Art.356?
There never was any law or order in Bihar for there to be a break down. West Bengal, has for long been a CPI(M) fiefdom and very little was known beyond the iron curtain, till recently when Mamata started crying foul. And the BJP government has thought it fit to send a team there, just to oblige her, though the possibility of skeletons tumbling down the red cupboard cannot also be ruled out. Even so, these two states are utmost instances of internal disturbances or a failure of the administrative machinery to protect life and property.
But is not the case of Tamilnadu drastically different from them, for what is at stake here is national security, that is, assuming that the sovereign government of the BJP still thinks TN as part of the country? Were those who bombarded Kovai, just street corner thugs? Or were they part of those robber gangs we hear of so often that keep looting petrol bunks and isolated houses in the outskirts of the city? The CM of the state obviously thinks so, because when his government was tipped off about the impending attack, all he did was to pass on the tip to the CoP, as if it was just a pick pocket crime that was in the offing. But we, the unfortunate and terrified subjects of this Thaanai Thalaivan, know only too well, that with Ayeshas still on the prowl, it is only a matter of time before the next bomb goes off. For we are well aware of the intents of the terrorists which were there for all to see, except of course, the CM and his coborns, much, much before the blasts.
It is indeed baffling that despite unassailable proof of the ISI hand behind the blasts, and that too at a time when we are bursting nuclear bombs to deter a declared enemy, we have wittingly allowed that very enemy’s long arm to reach deep into the interiors of the country. Should not the Home Minister, who claims that it is the prerogative of his Ministry to deal with Pakistan as it relates to the latter’s abetment of terrorism in our country, be worried about what is happening in the state, that too when he himself had a first hand feel of the real situation?
If the BJP, like the protagonists of the DMK regime, also thinks that the persistent demands for dismissal are politically motivated, then, pray, what is their motivation in not even sending a fact finding team (of sober officials, mind you!) to study the situation obtaining in the State? If there is no ground for such a demand, then what is the basis for the BJP’s stern refusal to even look into that demand? While the terrorist history of the state under the DMK dispensation has been chronicled by the opposition and the media, the Vajpayee government is yet to come out with one single convincing reason for refusing to even listen, leave alone dismissal.
If there is going to be another tragedy, though we wish not, the blame for allowing it to happen would equally go to the BJP too, with the latter displaying the familiar indifference that characterises the DMK’s attitude towards criminals. And as things stand, the possibility cannot be ruled out as we now know that the State is a veritable landmine, with bombers still on prowl. We hope the rulers in the Capital wake up before the bombs explode and not after anguished cries of a few more victims rend the air.
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