The three innocents who lost their lives during the ‘democratic’ attack on ‘press freedom’ by co-borns of the DMK were not the only casualties of last week’s Madurai Madness. Several other things like public propriety, justice, constitutional protocol, a PM’s prerogatives and pressmen’s honour also died ignominous deaths as the rational CM and his family parivar, that includes the DMK party, went about cleaning up their house in all rational zeal. But with tons of dirty linen and overflowing cupboards of skeletons accumalated over the last fifty years of sterling service to self and society staring at them, the public purging already resembles a mega-family soap with sons tripping grand-nephews in TRP, read, Thalaivar’s Raththa Paasam! To be sure, the toll too is getting taller.
What is proper or improper may often be a personal decision, but the perception will vary according to an individual’s position in society. It is understandable, say, for the father of ‘Attack’ Pandi, the key accused in the Madurai killings, to back his son to the hilt, in private and public. They are an ordinary father-son duo, accountable, at best, to law and conscience. But Azhagiri and his father are no ordinary men. The latter is a ruler, vested with a Rajadharma. He is answerable as much to the people he rules as to law and conscience. He must be trustworthy and inspire confidence. For that, his public behaviour must be above suspicion. The CM must be fair and also appear to be fair. The current imbroglio is not a ‘blood test’ but a soul scan. But how does our leader fare? Unlike Manu Needhi Chozhan, the Tamil king of yore who put his son to death at a charriot’s wheel for running over a calf, K has allowed the father in him to prevail instead.
He cocks a snook at public opinion and the aforesaid lofty Tamil culture that he often brags about and goes all out to certify his son’s innocence by parading him like a paragon! Azhagiri is escorted from the airport in a police vehicle by a top cop like a VVIP; he attends his dad’s felicitation function in full public glare and is presented pompously before the national guardians of democracy adorning the stage; he sits in the Assembly gallery, gleefully and also gratefully, watching his father getting drenched in wholesome praise. So,what’s next? Azhagiri for RS and even as IT minister to spite Dayanidhi? Propriety in public life is the sad fourth casualty.
Justice, the fifth wicket, follows closely. With the CM not interested in displaying even a pretence of fairness, the long arm of the law will naturally have to take the cue, remain folded and unfold only to be raised in abject surrender. Now, not just the media and public, but even the CM’s own allies like the CPI(M) in Madurai, have openly accused Azhagiri of instigating the violence. Though hard evidence is what would clinch the matter in courts, there is certainly credible cause for their claims. The minimum that justice demands is to subject him to interrogation, if not arrest, which is the normal legal treatment for ‘lesser sons’ of the soil. But even during the violence the police remained spectators. With the CM’s message now coming loud and clear, which police officer would dare touch Azhagiri?
Again, there are also apprehensions of intimidations to the judiciary. Already, during the AIADMK’s regime, two cases, J’s own disproportionate asset case and the Kanchi murder case were moved to Bangalore and Puducherry respectively under SC orders because the Apex court concurred with the plaintiffs’ view that a fair trial was not possible in TN due to the political climate here. The SC recently wanted to know why the T Kiruttinan murder case in which Azhagiri is a prime accused, should not be moved to Bangalore. With such a track-record, it now looks the legal fraternity was mistaken in fighting for a Bench of the Madras HC in Madurai; they should have agitated for many more Benches outside TN, say in Bangalore, Hyderabad etc! So much for K’s claim as a torch bearer of justice in the lineage of the Cholas and Pandiyas. Or was it ‘Attack’ Pandi he meant?
Protocol too went for a toss. Normally, induction of a Union minister is announced through a Presidential communique. But Radhika Selvi’s swearing-in details came from the DMK president first, much to the horror of the Capital’s officialdom. Also, choosing his cabinet colleagues is constitutionally the PM’s prerogative. But we know Manmohan is no chooser, having accepted the post minus the faculty of choice. However, his initial surrender at least was to his boss and benefactor. But getting stripped of even the residual prerogatives is indeed a sick joke on the Sardar. So coalition compulsions will override all norms of ability or suitability.
The IT portfolio is the DMK’s birthright, no matter if there are better persons in the UPA or if the ministry rots. The PM can’t reboot, having surrendered the password as ransom for survival! Nor can he flinch in protest when K foists Radhika Selvi on the Central Ministry to ‘rehabilitate’ her. She, the wife of V Panniar, a renowned, respected and revered rowdy, who was killed by constables and inspecters in a ‘real’ encounter, will now lord over the CBI and guard national security. A sweet revenge of sorts indeed for her, though it is bound to be utterly demoralising for cops and sleuths of all hues. Of course, this damage to the nation does not matter because K’s whish is an order.
And then has come the death blow to press freedom, which in any case was only on ventilators. K, piqued and pained by the procession taken out by journos to protest the killings, lost no time in hitting back. After listing the the various doles and welfare schemes that he had so magnanimously given to the journalistic fraternity over the years, albeit from public funds, he has sought to make out a rational case for the fourth estate to function as his fifth column. Calling in favours when force fails, is a familiar political ploy of K. So how does the media react to this predicament? Dump the dead and answer the Kalaingar’s call of gratitude or treat all that ‘charity’ as coming from tax-payers’ money and be truthful to them?
Indeed the rationalists are extracting quite an exorbitant price from the nation.
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