The natural inclination is to dismiss all their talk as the usual dreary and drab Dravidian drivel but on second thoughts, both Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi seem to have unwittingly offered a unique opportunity to let oneâs imagination fly wild, besides tickling the funny bone.
If the heated exchange of words between the two traditional adversaries is duly followed up by an exchange of their assets too, as current trends indicate, then one can look forward to witnessing some rare sights, unbelievable political postures and a major shift in the balance of power in the State. Afterall, does power not flow from money?
Karunanidhi has raised a very rational objection to Jayalalithaâs challenge or offer – depending on how you look at it- on the asset exchange proposal. How could she transfer the assets when everything is in the courtâsâ custody? Objection sustained.
Obviously the CM is no sucker or otherwise he wouldnât be where he is now and he has clearly seen through his opponentâs ploy to dump disputed assets on him in exchange for the unencumbered assets that he and his clan âallegedlyâ possess.
One can expect him to wait till the court releases them or Jayalalitha for her part can try and bring Karunanidhiâs properties under the purview of the courts. That way there would be a level playing field.
But assuming that the barter does take place despite the impediments- for if politicians will, nothing can stop them- one can venture to hazard a few possibilities on how the new owners of the old, well-known properties would cherish their latest acquisitions. Jayalalitha can now have a feel of how the world looks like when viewed through dark glasses, Karunanidhiâs most durable possession which would be hers now.
Also the loss of her characteristic cape will now be compensated by the advent of a shining yellow towel on her person, yet another belonging of the CM that he holds as close to his heart as rationalism. But the real bonanza for the lady would be the two-for-one deal meaning that she would get the two houses of the CM in exchange of her one house in city.
But the CM may not be any poorer; in fact he would be richer by a pouch containing one rupee coins-58 to be precise- that represents the amount that Jayalalitha received as salary during her 58-month stint as CM. Also, Karunanidhi would now be the proud owner of the coveted grape garden in Hyderabad(Local taxes will be extra).
But all these are nothing when compared to the scores of shoes, chappals, saris, empty suitcases and jewellery that he has been referring to with anguish in every press conference. What was hithertofore the properties of just one person can now be distributed to a large number of members of the CMâs household(s). Talk of social justice!
And now we come to the mega deal of the entire episode. Jayalalitha has been clever enough to enlarge Karunanidhiâs asset base to include those of his all powerful nephew too. That master stroke brings to the bargain table the ubiquitous Sun TV that has of late started rising from the north, south, east and west in its bid to promote Tamil through channels in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and possibly Bhojpuri and Oriya too.
Here Jayalalitha would be the biggest gainer for what she would be offering in return is just peanuts…Jaya TV. Of course, viewers can now look forward to the funny prospect of Jayalalitha getting castigated on Jaya TV by a panel of speakers on a talk show, who had all just packed their bags from Arivalayam to Poes garden.
The Sun TV and a slew of channels that comes along, not to speak of the monopolistic cable network owned by the first family of TN, would now start telling the world what a corrupt person Karunanidhi is!
There are however a few grey areas. For instance, there is no talk of whether the DMK and AIADMK parties are also part of the swap. After all it is no secret that the two parties are the sole private properties of their respective leaders. If so, then logically the two party organs too will have to change hands.
Namadhu MGR can then be christened, you guessed it, Namadhu Kalaingar, while Murasoli will henceforth become Jaalra! For the record, there would be no exchange of ideologies owing to the fact that there is no difference between the two parties on that count and in any case that kitty is now empty.
One can go on for if the allegations of both leaders are to be believed-a temptation that the people of TN would be hard pressed to reject- then sky is the limit for the deal. But we have a humble suggestion to offer. Canât the two leaders who claim to be in competitive service for the poor, downtrodden and backward people of TN, distribute their properties to the people instead of the intended barter that only seeks to keep all the assets within the Dravidian family?
But then, that would be wishful thinking for in that case the whole deal may be called off. For now the hapless people of this wretched State will have to be content with getting an answer to the million dollar question that is now haunting them: Who can make more money – A script writer or an actress?
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