Sasikala retains her forte?

Though it is shocking, it is true.  Whispers in the power circles is that Sasikala, aide and confidante of Jayalalitha for more than two decades has retained her forte. It was almost evident that Amma was cracking the whip on the Mannargudi Mafia which has spread its tentacles throughout the state.    The tentacles of the MM cartel were so powerful that officials who were entrusted with the task of releasing the Tamil Nadu administration from the web of the MM cartel were perplexed as to cut which tentacle of the octopus. 

News spread among journalistic circles that Sasikala’s tiff with Amma has reached a boiling point and Amma has made it clear that Sasikala should remain as her personal aide, without any role in the administration.  The whisper was strengthened when Sasikala made an untimely exit from the Poes garden to her close relative’s house.   Sasikala’s sudden exit fuelled rumours that Amma had made Sasikala persona non grata. But, in the evening Sasikala was back in Poes Garden as usual.  But whether Sasikala is wielding the same clout with Jayalalitha – making policy decisions as to who should be appointed to where – is anybody’s guess.

Senior bureaucrats and Police officers who were jittery following Amma’s diatribe against the MM cartel heaved a sigh of relief following the re-entry of Sasikala into garden. But it was after this news that "CM's deputy Secretary Ramalingam has been relieved from his duties", that rattlled the powerful community in the state bureaucracy. 

This news reached the man of the moment Ramalingam when he was inside Poes Garden, but the order was not served to him immediately as it happens in other cases. Sources say it took several hours for the officials to even serve the orders. (Which obviously did not reach him at all) But the inside story is it was a deliberate attempt to delay orders and  there was hectic lobbying underway to save Ramalingam from being booted out.

Whispers doing rounds in the corridors of Fort St George is that senior bureaucrats from an influential community worked overtime to ensure that Ramalingam stays in CMO. Sources also say, IG intelligence Thamarai Kannan was shrewd enough to convience Amma after she decided to chuck Ramalingam out.

The rosy picture given by Thamarai Kannan was that Ramalingam, a Deputy Secretary in the Chief Minister’s office - who actually is the eyes and ears of Sasikala - is a most loyal person.  Ramalingam who was asked to go on long leave was asked to re-join duty as of today – Friday 16 December 2011. 
 

Fort St George sources say Ramalingam, who is serving as a Deputy Secretary in the Chief Minister’s office is the person who is nominated by Chinnamma to keep a tab on the movements and developments in the CM’s office. 
 

Following the inputs given to Jayalalitha about the clout of the MM cartel, she chose to weed out the MM nominees. Officers who were rejoicing about the clipping of wings of the MM cartel are now having a second thought whether to open their heart or take sides with the MM cartel, which, as of now, appears to be as powerful as it used to be.

Center's all out war against Amma!

It appears that the Congress party is seeking revenge on Tamilnadu Chief Minister Jayalaitha for her firm stance against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's pet project - the Kudunkulam Nuclear Power Plant.   Jayalalitha ruffled feathers during her visit to Delhi after assuming charge as Chief Minister and tried to pull the rug under Home Minister P.Chidambaram.  A perturbed Chiddu was waiting for a chance to push Jaya into a corner.

Thanks to the never ending Mullaiperiyar dam row...this has now become a powerful tool for the Congress to corner Jayalilathaa...Congress insiders say there was no reason for the Kerala congress government to rake up this issue at this point...as Mullai Periyar dam’s strength and weakness were part of a litigation in the Supreme Court and the SC had already constituted expert committees to look into the issue.

Dinamani a leading Tamil daily published a story that a movie named ‘Dam 999’ is about to be released which allegedly shows that a weak dam, if broke would wreak havoc on the lives of people living nearby.  This news item caused flutters when MPs from Tamil Nadu raked up this issue to cause linguistic frenzy.

The DMK was quick to raise this issue in the national capital and were on the forefront to stir trouble.  Whispers doing rounds in DMK circles is that it was not because the DMK was concerned that the movie will create fear among people living around Mullaiperiyar dam... But the real reason for the DMK MPs to stir trouble was to divert the attention of the media from the 2G scam and any adverse reports on Kanimozhi's bail plea.

Sources say DMK MP's were particularly asked to raise dirt on the Mullaiperiyar dam issue by the party high command...this was a clear and clever strategy by the 87 year old DMK patriarch as this will not only to attention from the 2G scam, but also will put the Congress party at the Center and his arch rival in the State - Jayalilatha in a fix.

As predicted by the old fox Karunanidhi, this issue has now snowballed into a major controversy.  The agitation of MPs from Tamil Nadu naturally united the Keralites and their concerns over the safety of Mullai Periyar dam. With the DMK playing its wicked game...the Central Government too saw this as an opportunity to seek revenge on Jayalilathaa...with the help of Intelligence Bureau and the Kerala Congress the Central Government is now playing tit for tat politics and pay back Amma in her own coin. 

Following the tickle by the Intelligence Bureau, the entire Malayalam media debates were focussed on one question...the main question raised was.."when safety is the only concern in the Koodankulam nuclear plant, is it not the same safety concern on the dam?... However, the intelligence bureau and Kerala Congress was successful in manipulating the media to concentrate only on this issue and whip up frenzy.  Further the omnipotent, strong Malayali officers' lobby in the center is also working overtime in the Mullaiperiyar dam issue.

Whispers doing rounds in Delhi circles is that Home Minister P Chidambaram, Narayanswamy are the reason behind this acid test for amma. As this will make her further unpopular at a time when her image has taken a beating due to the price hike, power cuts and the infamous 66 crore rupees corruption case.

Curiously, the Dam 999 movie’s Director who had announced that he would not move the Court against the ban on the movie has now moved the Supreme Court against the ban of TN government. The SC which had time and again upheld the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution is likely to lift the ban on the movie, which would be another setback for Amma in Court.

Now the Kerala Assembly has convened a 'emergency session’ to discuss the Mullai periyar dam row...which in all likelihood will force Jayalalitha to follow suit and pass a resolution...or if Jaya leads a delegation to Delhi like the Kerela Government then this question... "when safety is the only concern in the Koodankulam nuclear plant, is it not the same safety concern when it come to the dam?"..this will be the only talking point !... At the end because of the dam war...Jayalalitha’s much publicized sabbatical in Kodanadu is likely to be the causality.  Whether the queen bee of Tamil Nadu would pass the ‘Agni Pariksha’ forced on her by her bête noire remains to be seen.

But for now it appears that the center's plan to damn amma with a dam is successful.