Tamil Nadu CM M.G. Ramachandran plays safe with Centre on spirit deal commission issue

The Centre's announcement of the appointment of a one-man commission to inquire into what has come to be known as the spirit deal involving Tamil Nadu and Kerala did not come as a surprise in political circles in Madras. The move had been in the air for long and K. Manoharan, former AIADMK minister now in the DMK camp, had even predicted correctly the exact date of the announcement.While the DMK and the Congress(I), which had been demanding such a commission, have thus scored a political victory over the AIADMK, which had all along been opposing it, the public reaction is one of scepticism.Typical of that reaction was the remark: "Nothing much will come out of it. What has happened to the Sarkaria Commission? The Centre instituted the commission and now it has withdrawn the cases against Karunanidhi arising out of its findings, because Karunanidhi is now friendly with the Congress(I). The same thing will happen to this commission also once M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) falls in line with the Congress(I)."Even though Central ministers like R. Venkataraman and R.V. Swaminathan had made it clear that the appointment of the commission is not a prelude to dismissal of the AIADMK ministry, Chief Minister MGR is not taking their word for granted. At a recent party meeting in Madurai, he said: "The Centre dismissed the AIADMK ministry last year without any valid reasons. It can do the same now also. We must be prepared for any eventuality."Cautious: For the present, however, MGR does not obviously want to give the Centre a handle to beat him with, and is making every effort to avoid a confrontation. That explains his cautious statement that both the commissions, appointed by the Centre and the state would function.MGR : Preparing for the worstThe state Cabinet, he said, would decide whether the state Government would cooperate with the Central commission, but he gave enough indication that it would. "There should not be any difficulty because the same records had to be placed before both commissions." he said. Not content with this, MGR issued a fiat to partymen not to make any statement on the Centre's action. That, he warned, would amount to party indiscipline.MGR's caution is understandable. He is scheduled to go abroad early in July. He is likely to be away for a month during which he plans to visit the US, UK and other countries. His trip to the US, which he had been planning for some time, is for treatment of his eyes and a blood infection he is rumoured to have. He, therefore, wants to avoid any serious political developments during his absence.MGR is scheduled to meet Mrs Indira Gandhi on June 25. Though the purpose of his visit is being kept a secret, India Today has learned that he is likely to make certain proposals. If accepted by the Centre, the state Government may not only cooperate with the Central commission, but disband its own. These proposals are likely to be: an assurance that the Centre would not dismiss the AIADMK ministry.enlargement of the terms of reference of the Central commission to include allegations of irregularities in the sale of spirit during the previous DMK regime from 1969-76. The Central commission's scope is now limited to a two-month period in 1980. (The state inquiry commission, headed by retired high court judge R. Sadasivam had also the same scope originally, but it was enlarged later to cover allegations during the DMK regime).shifting of the Central commission's headquarters to Tamil Nadu or Kerala or to a place outside both the states which would be nearer to both state capitals than Delhi. Frequent long trips to Delhi by those willing to give evidence can thus be avoided.Jubilant over its initial success, the DMK is demanding the resignation of the MGR Ministry. "I won't ask him to resign," said Karunanidhi, "I would only remind him what he had demanded when he submitted a memorandum of allegations against my ministry." Though the Congress(I) leaders are yet to make any such demand, the militant Youth Congress(I) has threatened to launch an agitation if the ministry did not quit.The Kerala Government, however, has not taken kindly to the Centre's proposal. Reacting sharply to Union Minister of State for Home, Yogendra Makwana's statement that the states, in their own interest, should wind up inquiry commissions set up by them, Kerala Chief Minister E.K. Nayanar said there was "no justification whatsoever," for the appointment of another commission by the Centre particularly when the commissions set up by Kerala and Tamil Nadu had completed all formalities and had started functioning. "The Centre had deliberately defeated the state Government's move to get a sitting judge of the high court to hold the inquiry", he said. Nayanar added that the Kerala Government would go ahead with its inquiry. "The purity of purpose of the Centre's action in appointing a commission on the lines suggested by the Opposition leader K. Karunakaran thus stood exposed", he claimed. Nayanar also said that the approach of the Government towards the inquiry commission was politically motivated and he claimed this was borne out by the withdrawal of cases registered on the basis of the Shah Commission's findings and the cases against former Tamil Nadu Chief minister K. Karunanidhi.Other leaders of the Left Front Government are also wary of the proposed commission. They feel that its findings could be used against their government. As one said: "This commission could provide one more excuse for Mrs Gandhi when she wants to dismiss us."Meanwhile, the constitutional validity of one of the terms of reference of the Central commission is being hotly debated in academic and political circles in Tamil Nadu. This relates to the alleged exertion of influence by the state chief minister to expunge from the proceedings of the Assembly the names of his close friends whom the Opposition leader, M. Karunanidhi claimed, were involved in the matter. It is being asked whether this will not impinge upon the privileges of the Assembly.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 18, 2013 12:11 IST--- ENDS ---

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Tamil Nadu CM M.G. Ramachandran plays safe with Centre on spirit deal commission issue

The Centre's announcement of the appointment of a one-man commission to inquire into what has come to be known as the spirit deal involving Tamil Nadu and Kerala did not come as a surprise in political circles in Madras.

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