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Two birds with one stone

BY ARRESTING THE DMK leader, M. K. Stalin, on a rather flimsy charge in a midnight operation, the Tamil Nadu Government has shown utter disregard for established norms on pre-trial detention. The manner of the arrest and remand, on the basis of a hurriedly filed First Information Report of trespass into the Queen Mary's College, creates the strong suspicion that the AIADMK Government is still running the course of political vendetta. That the Metropolitan Magistrate, N. Venkatavaradhan, before whom Mr. Stalin was produced, felt the need to question the urgency of the arrest is by itself a clear indictment of the unseemly haste displayed by the police who were obviously acting under instructions from their political bosses. Indeed, the magistrate suggested that Mr. Stalin be produced the next morning, but as the DMK leader did not want to spend the night in police custody, he was remanded to judicial custody then and there. The entire sequence of events appeared almost a replay of the arrest of Mr. Stalin and the DMK president, M. Karunanidhi, in June 2001, which was similarly marked by a total lack of transparency from the filing of the FIR to the taking into custody. On that occasion, the AIADMK Government had backed down following a national uproar and relentless pressure from the Centre, and the stay in jail was relatively short for Mr. Stalin. Now, in the changed political scenario, when the DMK is drifting away from the BJP, which heads the Central Government, the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, must have sensed the opportunity to complete a job she thought had been left half-done. From the very beginning of her tenure, indeed, right from the election campaign days of 2001, Ms. Jayalalithaa had seemed to be bent on sending DMK leaders to jail, perhaps as retributive justice for the days she spent in jail during the DMK regime. In such a context, the arrest no doubt smacks of political vindictiveness.

However, it is just as pertinent to note that the arrest is linked to the agitation by students and alumni of the Queen Mary's College against the proposed demolition of the college. Mr. Stalin had addressed the protesting students at the college, thus inviting the charge of trespass. The arrest, made after a complaint from the principal, is surely meant to discourage the alumni of the college from lending momentum to the students' agitation against the move to displace their college with a new Secretariat. The Government was rattled as the students sought and got the support of Opposition parties in their attempt to stall the demolition move. The college campus itself had become the forum for the expression of resentment against the AIADMK rule. In effect, the Government felled two birds with one stone: the principal political rivals, belonging to the DMK, are now in jail, and the leaders of an agitation that symbolised the growing rage against the officialdom have been served a stern warning. Even after the college was ordered to close, the students and other protesters continued to gather at the institution's premises in continuance of their agitation. The mood of the students was such that the Chief Minister had to repeatedly take an alternative route to the Assembly, avoiding the college stretch.

Whatever the political calculations behind these actions of Ms. Jayalalithaa, the Opposition parties have only gained more ammunition to train at the Government. The DMK found support from almost the entire Opposition in the Assembly. Though there is no alliance between the Congress and the DMK, the Congress MLAs were ready to take to the streets to protest the arrest. Obviously, the increasingly intolerant attitude of the AIADMK Government, which is becoming more and more manifest with each passing day, can only strengthen the cause of the Opposition.

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