The Rediff Interview/S Thirunavukkarasu

'Jayalalitha was the fountainhead of corruption. And she has not learnt her lesson'

An ardent follower has painted poetic expressions on a wall picture in his home, describing him as the ''eternal light for the future lit by MGR''. Outside, the walls are plastered with the publicity material of a Tamil pulp magazine that adds the trademark MGR cap and sun glasses to his moustachioed face.

Sacked from the AIADMK for the third time in 10 years -- twice by Jayalalitha in as many years -- former Tamil Nadu minister S Thirunavukkarasu has been drawing most anti-Jayalalitha leaders into his fold.

As Thirunavukkarasu -- who rejoined the AIADMK just before the 1996 elections as the party deputy general secretary -- started putting the ''MGR myth'' back in circulation, Jayalalitha was convinced that he was out to end her hold over the party. Both have suddenly found everything wrong in each other's conduct, and the parallel general councils called by them at Madras on the same day last week made their respective leaders supremos, expelling the other from the party.

The battle is now for the AIADMK -- its name, title flag and, of course, the ''Two Leaves'' symbol ''given by MGR''.

Thirunavukkarasu has won the first round, with seven of the 14 Rajya Sabha members of the party -- it has no representation in the Lok Sabha -- joining his camp, giving a rude shock to Jayalalitha. But his progress has been hampered by an interim injunction against Jayalalitha's expulsion, granted by a vacation bench of the Madras high court.

Seated beneath an impressive bookshelf in his Anna Nagar bungalow in Madras -- featuring the books of William Shakespeare and Gunar Myrdal besides Tamil religious literature -- the 48-year-old rebel leader answers N Sathiya Moorthy's questions. Excerpts from the interview:

Do you think there is still an ''MGR votebank'' 10 years after his death?

There has been only one vote bank -- the ''MGR vote bank''. All of us have benefited from it. People vote for ''Two Leaves''. No other leader including Jayalalitha has charisma.

After the party split, is the vote bank with you?

Yes, most followers of MGR are now on our side. They are disgusted with Jayalalitha's corrupt ways and her attempts to foist Sasikala Natarajan again on the party. Sasikala has been released on bail in the various criminal cases involving her, and soon she will regain her hold over the party.

How can you justify your claim that yours is the real AIADMK?

We have 50 per cent of the party's Parliament members, and three of the eight MLAs from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Pondicherry. Four more MLAs -- who have been kidnapped --will join us soon.

But the other side too has claimed a majority.

Jayalalitha claims a majority on the basis of the partial elections she conducted in the party last year. Scared that the results will go against her, she got herself declared elected as party general secretary without completing the election process. So, only the earlier general council is valid, and we have a majority in that body.

You have been dubbed ambitious, and charged with conspiring to hijack the party after Jayalalitha's possible imprisonment in the various criminal cases against her.

If Jayalalitha is in trouble, she is responsible for it. I didn't do anything.

Jayalalitha has charged Tamil Maanila Congress supremo G K Moopanar with conspiring to split the AIADMK.

Moopanar has been a long-time friend of my wife's family. An uncle of my wife has been a senior Congress leader, and had worked as the district party secretary when Moopanar was the president. Our friendship goes back to two or three decades, and there is nothing political about it. After all, we had known each other even when MGR was around, and it would have made sense if I had joined the TMC when he founded it. But I joined the AIADMK instead.

What about the DMK? Even that party has not escaped criticism.

There is no truth in those charges. As the true followers of MGR, we are not in touch with any DMK leaders.

Will your party have any electoral alliance with the DMK or the TMC?

It's too early to discuss such matters. But I can say this thing for sure: We will not align either with the DMK or Jayalalitha.

What about the TMC?

As I said, it's too early to say anything.

Are you in touch with other anti-Jayalalitha factions within the AIADMK?

Yes, I have already met former minister R M Veerappan. Even our general council has appealed to all former MGR loyalists like Veerappan, Rajaram, G Viswanathan and Azhagu Thirunavukkarasu to join hands with us in restoring the ''MGR glory''.

What was the reaction of Veerapan, who has considerable clout and good following?

I have met him a few times since my leaving Jayalalitha, and he has given me his blessings. Anyway, he has a party of his own, namely the MGR Kazhagam, and discussions are on. You know, I can't come out with the details, or give you the trend of the discussions. That's not good strategy.

Will he and others accept your leadership?

As I said, we are all MGR's followers, and that's our only strength.

What about film star Rajnikanth? You used to be a friend of his until your rejoining Jayalalitha.

We have been in touch..

After the split?

No, he is abroad, and I have not contacted him. But you know, our general council meeting was held in the kalayana mandap owned by him.

Did he know about it?

Obviously. We were not celebrating a wedding. It was a sensitive political meeting, and obviously his people would have got his clearance before letting out the hall to us.

What then about the rumour that Rajnikanth will back an alliance of the TMC and the anti-Jayalalitha factions of the AIADMK in the next elections?

It's too early to say anything.

What about forming a third front of smaller parties?

That's there. But, right now, we are busy consolidating our party, obtaining the Election Commission's recognition, etc. Other things will have to wait.

What about all the erstwhile ministerial colleagues of Jayalalitha from the ''rebel AIADMK'' who have since joined hands with you?

Yes, they all attended our general council meeting, and are office-bearers now.

What about the criminal cases against them?

They have to face it by themselves, and the party will have nothing to do with such cases. Anyway, tell me, which political party in the country has been free from such corruption charges against individual leaders?

How could Jayalalitha be different then?

She was the fountainhead of corruption and other corrupt practices while in power. And she has not learnt her lesson.

Still, you joined her at the height of her rule, or misrule.

I can be frank on that. I felt frustrated at the lack commitment from the DMK and the Congress for forming an anti-Jayalalitha electoral alliance in the state. Karunanidhi would not accept my candidature as the common non-AIADMK candidate for the Lok Sabha by-election in my native Pudukottai constituency in 1995. As Congress chief and prime minister, Narasimha Rao was wishy-washy on an anti-Jayalalitha alliance. He ultimately joined hands with her.

That was when she invited me to rejoin the party whose morale was low and when it needed a non-corrupt leader like me. After all, I had been a founder-member of the party. I thought it would be good to rejoin the party and help Jayalalitha rebuild it in the post-poll days. I knew the party would lose power.

As a leader hailing from the thevar community, what do you say about the caste clashes in the southern districts?

I am above caste politics, and I do not approve of such caste clashes. That's not the kind of politics I learnt at the feet of MGR.

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