Palaniswami set to lead TN Oppn charge

CHENNAI: After 10 years of being in power, the AIADMK is leading the opposition with Edappadi Palaniswami following a power tussle with his party coordinator O Panneerselvam. For over 30 years, Tamil Nadu has not seen an effective leader of opposition, a powerful post for the losing party, despite its chequered history of healthy debates in the House.

The current leaders’ predecessors late M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa were both notorious for rarely attending assembly but marked their attendance in the registry kept outside. But the present AIADMK regime promises it will be different where they will raise charges levelled them on NEET, Cauvery water dispute, 2G scam (an appeal on the verdict is pending in the Delhi high court), etc.

“This is an opportunity for us as the opposition and boost AIADMK’S image as the true representative of the common people,” says C Ponnaiyan, one of AIADMK’S founding members. “Palaniswami has called Stalin for a public debate many times during campaign to prove his charges but he avoided it. Now AIADMK will raise these issues and as opposition leader Palaniswami will prove it with evidence in the assembly and Stalin cannot avoid it. Public and youngsters will be made to understand that electoral utterances by Stalin against us are not true.” Chief minister and DMK president Stalin had issued a statement last week to his partymen to bury differences and work with opposition parties to solve people’s grievances. “The competition is over. We have to forget bitter speeches made during the campaign by Palaniswami and other opposition leaders, unite and serve people,” said DMK spokesperson J Constantine Ravindran, adding the party hoped he would play a constructive opposition leader role.

Political analysts say that Palaniswami’s role is crucial for a healthy democracy. “The opposition is the first indicator to know whether the government is on the right track,” says Ramu Manivannan, head, politics and public administration, University of Madras. “Debate and accountability is possible only with a strong and effective opposition. Whether we can keep corruption in check is secondary.”

Another aspect in the House which is intriguing is that AIADMK’S ally BJP has for the first time in 20 years entered the Tamil Nadu assembly. The national party, which envisions coming on its own by the next assembly election, has four MLAS. In a scenario where the ideologies of the Dravidian party and the saffron party will be at play, analysts don’t see them coordinating on the floor of the house. “BJP will assert themselves as an important opposition to the DMK. For their future survival they may even oppose the AIADMK,”SAYS Manivannan. “They would be an independent voice and legislature to promote their identity in Tamil Nadu. AIADMK wouldn’t like to vacate its space for any third party but unless they retain the march of

Dravidian politics, retain the Dravidian identity, the AIADMK would go into further depletion with existing factional politics.”

This is Palaniswami’s first time as party’s legislative leader and in effect opposition leader. Pannerselvam filled in this role temporarily for Jayalalithaa in 2006. Given Stalin and Palaniswami exchanges, which is a healthy political rivalry and a refreshing change from the bitter politics of the past Dravidian icons, experts expect the Assembly to live up again.

“Some quality debates may be expected,” says historian AR Venkatachalapathy.

“Stalin’s desire to leave behind a good legacy as a respected politician if not a statesman and to not just to be known as Karunanidhi’s son is discernable. Palaniswami has matured as an administrator and may want to show that he is the successor to Jayalalithaa.”

History of Oppn role

Venkatachalapathy recalls healthy debates from the past in Tamil Nadu’s assembly. “Historically from the 1920s even though the legislative council was a small body it was known for good exchanges,” says Venkatachalapathy. “Rajaji (C Rajagopalachari former chief minister of erstwhile Madras Presidency) would always be on his feet. Even if he lost a larger political battle, he always wanted to win an argument. People were fluent in Queen’s English as well as Tamil. In the first assembly, in 1952, when Congress did not win a majority, the communists were very combative in the assembly. There was a shift after Kamaraj because he was a man of few words. He wouldn’t field questions. His cabinet members would respond. From 1957, as DMK members started coming in, the picture changed-- their command over language was very good. Karunanidhi used to give a tough time to MG Ramachandran but he would respond kindly.”

The absentee culture began after MGR’S death. When Jayalalithaa became the first woman opposition leader in the state, she came out dishevelled and weeping out of the assembly in March 1989, blaming DMK legislators for attacking her when Karunanidhi was three months into his chief ministerial term. “After that there was never really an opposition,” says Venkatachalapathy. “With most elections producing clean sweeps there has been no strong opposition.” She vowed never to return to the assembly until she was elected CM and she did just that following the 1991 elections. Given their bitter personal rivalries Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa mostly avoided one another in the assembly.

Before assembly elections in 2011, the then deputy leader of the opposition, Panneerselvam moved a resolution on Jayalalithaa’s request for absence on medical grounds which the assembly accepted. It was the first time a formal reason was tabled which was otherwise informally an accepted way of functioning. Jayalalithaa came to power in that election her government has continued until now despite her death in office in December 2016.

In 2011, actor turned politician Vijayakanth emerged as the opposition leader despite being in the winning AIADMK alliance as his party DMDK won more votes than the DMK. After Vijayakanth and Jayalalithaa had a ugly spat in the assembly and their alliance broke off, he also stopped attending assembly sessions.

THIS IS EDAPPADI PALANISWAMI’S FIRST TIME AS THE PARTY’S LEGISLATIVE LEADER AND IN EFFECT OPPN LEADER