Patriarch Under Siege

Power shortages and errant ministers fuel the opposition’s outcry against Karunanidhi’s mismanaged rule, reports PC VINOJ KUMAR

THE DMK Government in Tamil Nadu is facing its toughest test yet since its coming to power in May 2006. Faced with an unprecedented power shortage of about 2,000 MW (against the state’s total demand of about 10,000 MW), the government is finding it hard to cope with the crisis. The situation turned grim in late August when parts of the state went without power for about five hours every day. Chennai and its suburbs suffered power cuts for between one-and-a-half to three hours.

candles and kerosene lamps posed a contrast to the well-lit IT corridor and other arterial roads in and around Chennai, and only added to the criticism that the government had not increased power generation in proportion to the state’s industrialisation and infrastructure development.

Many in the manufacturing sector continue to bear the brunt of the crisis due to so-called ‘power holidays’ and load shedding. Because of the diesel they consume to run their generators, it has become a common sight to come across ‘Diesel — No Stock’ boards at fuel stations across the state. Discontent simmers among the industries. Early this month, in Coimbatore, about 10,000 small industries hoisted black flags on their buildings in protest against the power cuts.

On August 30, the government issued a public clarification through newspapers on the causes for the power shortage. “Due to deficient rainfall… the storage position in the hydel reservoirs has come down considerably. The availability of power from central generation stations [has] reduced due to shortage of lignite and uranium and Tamil Nadu is currently receiving only about 50 percent of our entitled share. During the last few days, availability of wind power has reduced by about 1,500 MW.” The government also claimed it had sanctioned projects to augment generation capacity by 1,800 MW, on which work had already commenced.

“At the instance of the state government, the Central Government has also agreed to set up an Ultra Mega Power Project of 4,000 MW in the state,” the notification added. The clarification has in no way mollified the state’s Opposition, which has demanded the resignation of state Electricity Minister and DMK treasurer, Arcot Veerasamy, for letting things come to such a pass.

On September 14, in a hard-hitting speech at a public meeting in Theni — her first after her long summer break at Kodanad — AIADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa claimed that surplus electricity had been produced in the state during her party’s rule. She said Tamil Nadu had then produced 10,011 MW when the demand was only 8,775 MW.

Jayalalithaa’s return to active politics is bound to add to the DMK’s woes. The DMK has already lost its key allies, the Left parties and the PMK. The former allies have upped the ante against the government, targetting it on the issues of price rise and the breakdown of law and order. DMDK leader Vijaykanth, who led a protest against the power cuts in Coimbatore, blamed both the DMK Government and the previous AIADMK regime for the situation. He said there was no need to give power to Kerala and Karnataka from Neyveli (where about 1,800 MW of power is being generated), when Tamil Nadu was facing a power shortage.

PMK leader S Ramadoss, whose rivalry with Veerasamy is well known, has a different take on the issue. He has alleged that there has been a fall in power generation due to the “inferior quality” coal being used in the thermal plants. Ramadoss has demanded an inquiry by a retired judge into the procurement of coal by the state government and the alleged uninterrupted power supply to some industries due to political pressure.

But Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, in an obvious move to divert attention from the growing resentment against his government, has announced a slew of populist schemes. On the occasion of DMK founder CN Annadurai’s 100th birth anniversary on September 15, he launched the one-rupee-akilo rice scheme. As per the scheme, ration card holders would be eligible to receive 20 kilos of rice for Rs 20. From October 2, the government plans to launch another scheme to provide ten types of condiments and spices worth Rs 67 at a subsidised price of Rs 50 at public distribution system shops. Reacting to the sops, AIADMK MP V. Maitreyan told TEHELKA, “The DMK Government is throwing peanuts to the people. Such gimmicks won’t divert attention from the soaring prices of essential commodities, the power, and diesel shortage.”

Adding to the party’s troubles are the activities of some of its ministers. Handlooms and Textiles Minister NKKP Raja was dropped from the Cabinet after he was alleged to have abducted three members of a family in connection with a land grabbing incident. Raja was the second DMK minister to be sacked after Social Welfare Minister Poongothai was compelled to step down this May. She was dropped from the ministry after she was caught on tape asking the state vigilance chief to go slow in a relative’s case.

However, Karunanidhi let off three other ministers, TM Anbarasan, Suresh Rajan and Veerapandi Arumugam, against whom there were charges, too.

In going to bat for his Cabinet, Karunanidhi refuted allegations that Labour Minister Anbarasan was protecting an accused in a murder case. He also dismissed the charges against Tourism Minister Suresh Rajan, who was accused of abusing a dalit officer and Agriculture Minister Veerapandi Arumugam.

ARUMUGAM, THE party’s strongman in Salem, was alleged to have been involved in a land grabbing case. According to G. Hari Babu, general secretary of the Centre for Protection of Civil Liberties (CPCL), the minister’s henchmen allegedly grabbed about 20,000 square feet of prime property in Salem after forcibly evicting 31 poor families, who had been living there for about 80 years. The disputed property is valued at about Rs 15 crore. In June, Babu filed a public interest litigation against the takeover in the Madras High Court and obtained an order for the immediate restoration of the land to the inhabitants. “Though the court had directed the Salem police commissioner to function without any political interference, he has failed to act on the court order till date. The CM continues to support Arumugam because he needs his support in Salem,” says Babu.

For the first time in the history of the DMK, questions are being asked over whether Karunanidhi is averse to cracking the whip against erring party heavyweights. It is a fact that the DMK is on weak political turf. With the PMK and the Left parties no longer with the DMK, the government is surviving on the support of 35 Congress MLAs. The Congress legislators have now raised the demand for a share in the ministry. They presented a memorandum placing their demand to party President Sonia Gandhi during her recent visit to the state. Vellore MLA C Gnanasekaran said Sonia had responded positively. “She has promised to consider our demand. The DMK Government can’t last a minute without the support of the 35 Congress MLAs. We are hopeful the party high command will take a good decision on our demand,” Gnanasekaran told TEHELKA.

On his part, Karunanidhi seems to be preparing for the inevitable. Talking to reporters in Trichy on September 21, where he had gone to receive the Periyar Award conferred on him by his party at a function to mark the birth centenary of DMK founder Annadurai, he said the Congress had not yet approached him on the issue of their joining the ministry. He said if the Congress leadership took up the issue with him, he would not ignore it, but discuss it in the party executive committee and the general council, and only then come to a final decision.

WRITER’S E-MAIL
vinoj@tehelka.com