Even as Tamil Nadu awaits the first budget of AIADMK government on August 3, there is a dramatic change of tone on the part of Chief Minister. Jayalalithaa, from one of building bridges with the Centre to taking pot shots at the UPA leaders. Maybe, she is not getting the responses she had sought from the Prime Minister in mid-June to help deliver on her election promises. Within two months of her triumphant return to power, there is a palpable shift toward taking a harsh stance vis-à-vis the Centre on a number of national issues.

She is credited with the view that “anything can happen before 2014” (Lok Sabha elections). At the state level, some of her hasty moves soon after assuming office have raised doubts whether Ms. Jayalalithaa is tending to revert to the style of arbitrariness associated with her past tenure. It is in stark contrast to the benevolent image she had created for herself post-election and of a seasoned politician intent on providing good governance and restoring the pre-eminence that Tamil Nadu had enjoyed in the past.

This applies typically to the abruptness with which she acted to defer the implementation of 'Samacheer Kalvi' (Uniform School Education), by getting the Assembly amend the original legislation, due for introduction in the new school year beginning June 2011, with millions of text-books based on common syllabus printed and awaiting distribution. This created great uncertainty for children and teachers all over. The Madras High Court struck down the amending act and the state government's appeal to the Supreme Court is being heard but the apex court did not stay the lower court order. TN Government has told the Court it would implement the scheme next year with appropriate changes in curriculum to enhance the quality of education.

Given the scale of land grabbing by mafia, politically influential or officials, Ms. Jayalalithaa made a swift but welcome intervention directing police to take prompt action on complaints after scrutiny and restore land to rightful owners. This applies to clear cases of usurpation, not covered by civil disputes. Special police cells were set up in each district for this purpose, and over 2500 complaints had been received. With scores of politicos involved in this, a number of DMK activists including some office-bearers, a DMK MLA and former DMK Minister Mr. Veerapandi S. Arumugam have been arrested.

Shell-shocked DMK, reduced to a minority of 23 members in the Assembly elections, is slowly bestirring itself to the arrests of its party workers on what it contends as “false charges” and organizing protest rallies, giving ‘rasta roko’ calls. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has vehemently denied Mr Karunanidhi’s charge of her Government indulging in “political vendetta”, pointing out his regime had taken no action on innumerable complaints of land grab. For her part, she has taken disciplinary action against a few cases involving her partymen.

Coming on top of the High Court’s ruling in favour of introduction of “samacheer kalvi” (USE) promoted by Mr Karunanidhi, with euglogy for DMK builders finding a place in the common syllabus, the party has re-energised itself to oganise state-wide demonstrations, though its calls on students to join protests did not evoke any significant response. Several DMK leaders were detained for some time including Mr M K Stalin, former Deputy Chief Minister, who was in Tiruvarur on July 30. Ms. Jayalalithaa denied that Mr Stalin was “arrested” and said he was “briefly detained for blocking the road”.

Nevertheless, the two issues – land grab arrests, though merit-based, and the non-implementation of USE in schools – have helped to revive DMK, which had been lying low since its humiliating defeat, which, Mr Karunanidhi told the party’s general council meeting on July 23, “we had brought upon ourselves”. That family politics and 2G scam (which led to the arrest of not only Mr A Raja, former Telecom Minister but also Mr Karunanidhi’s daughter Ms. Kanimozhi, Rajya Sabha MP) caused the rout is common knowledge.

The PMK of Dr Ramadoss, which also fared badly in the elections, has since snapped its ties with DMK. Mr Karunanidhi remains wedded to belief that the defeat was due to his failure to firm up “correct” poll alliance, having given away 63 seats to the Congress (of which it won only five). The DMK meet on July 23-24 brought into the open the rival factions led by his two sons, Mr. Stalin and Mr. M.K. Alagiri, Union Minister for Fertilisers, the former demanding the ‘thalapathi’ (chief) being named as successor while the latter trying to block any such change in leadership.

Mr. Karunanidhi as usual played down the rivalry while the General Council meeting ended without directions for the future. But the later agitations have begun to galvanise the party. Nor has Mr Karunanidhi, unhappy with the Congress, named substitutes for the two DMK Ministers who resigned - Mr Raja and Mr Dayanidhi Maran. He was more concerned with the “unfair” treatment meted out by CBI to his daughter and objecting to bail for Ms. Kanimozhi, only a 20 per cent share-holder in Kalaignar TV.

Politically, Ms. Jayalalithaa feels totally secure and is emboldened to throw a challenge or two at the Congress, now that the Raja episode gets murkier by the day, and she is not getting the response from the Centre on most of her demands not only on the financial side but also on her party’s demand for economic sanctions against Sri Lanka for its treatment of Tamils. She has asked her MPs to raise issues – which are also on BJP agenda – and demand that UPA leaders respond to the allegations of Mr Raja in the trial court involving both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. The UPA Chairperson (Ms. Sonia Gandhi) is also “keeping silence on the issue” and “the entire nation expects a reply to the serious charges of Mr Raja from the Prime Minister and the Home Minister”, she told the press.

Ms. Jayalalithaa, who had repeatedly called for Mr Chidambaram’s resignation over an alleged “fraud” in his 2009 election, also issued a withering statement against the pending Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2005, which she described as “undemocratic and Fascist” with provisions “totally repugnant” to the basic principles of Constitution. She imputed motives for the legislation by “a Central regime not only running out of steam but also of ideas for survival”. She charged the sweeping powers envisaged vitiated norms for Centre-State relations. (IPA)