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BJP seems keen on bailing out Jaya

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham is still 'reviewing' its support to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government at the Centre, party supremo J Jayalalitha said in Madras on Thursday.

But there is 'no time-limit' set for taking a decision, she told the media at the wedding of senior party leader V Sathyamurthy's daughter.

This is the first public comment by Jayalalitha in over three weeks, outside her media statements, on the AIADMK's ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre.

Not wanting to be drawn into a discussion on the issue, she also said her party's decision on the `review' question remained despite her major allies standing by the BJP.

With these comments, Jayalalitha has managed to keep the Vajpayee government technically on tenterhooks all over again, despite her party's weakening public postures against the BJP leadership in the past week.

Addressing a public meeting on Sunday, senior party leader V R Nedunchezhiyan even said that the AIADMK's support to the Vajpayee government continued, so did their differences.

"It doesn't mean that the 'review' is already on, or the AIADMK withdrawal of support is imminent," says an AIADMK insider. "We cannot be seen as losers, and do not want to be ridden rough shod over, all again."

The party source does not rule out the possibility of Jayalalitha actually withdrawing support to the Vajpayee government, if and when the Congress readies itself -- both for forming an alternative government, and for accepting the AIADMK.

"But as of today, there is no imminent threat, and the days of the Vajpayee government living on a day-to-day basis on borrowed time, are not there now."

Jayalalitha also would not be drawn into the question of her replying to senior BJP leader Pramod Mahajan.

"I don't have to answer every Tom, Dick and Harry," she told the media, when reminded of Mahajan's challenge.

"Maybe, she is using the 'review threat' only to gain more favours from the Vajpayee government," said a state BJP leader, who pleads ignorance of what's going on between his party leadership and the AIADMK supremo.

Like the party's political opponents, he does not see the overnight sacking of K Asokan, the central government standing counsel in the Madras high court, as a politically-motivated move at appeasing Jayalalitha.

Asokan was handling various Foreign Exchange Regulation Act cases involving Jayalalitha's confidante Sasikala Natarajan and the latter's family members.

He was removed late on Tuesday evening, and the order was served at his house after office hours. The files with him were also immediately removed.

Incidentally, this is not the first time that the Vajpayee government has taken administrative steps that have the possibility of helping out Jayalalitha and her aides.

Overnight, the AIADMK's then minister of state for revenue R K Kumar transferred all the income-tax officials handling cases involving Jayalalitha.

This was followed by the sacking of central government standing counsel for the department at various levels, and their replacement by advocates known to be close to the AIADMK leadership.

A BJP source said, "We have always been willing to help Jayalalitha out of her problems in our own way. But she should have patience, should trust us, and behave trustworthy."

If Asokan's sacking earlier this week is any indication, the BJP source has a point, after all.

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