PTI, May 22 2009
NEW DELHI: Congress got a reality check of sorts on Thursday even before Manmohan Singh began his second innings as PM. Its Tamil Nadu ally, DMK,
NEW DELHI: Congress got a reality check of sorts on Thursday even before Manmohan Singh began his second innings as PM. Its Tamil Nadu ally, DMK,
 DMK chief M Karunanidhi. (PTI Photo) |
threw a mega tantrum and threatened to stay outside the government unless it got more ministerial berths than the Congress was willing to give.
DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, who signalleDMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, who signalled his resolve to extract a high price for his support by booking himself and his party MPs on the Indian Airlines 10.10am flight on Friday for Chennai, walked out of negotiations when Congress refused to give DMK four Cabinet berths, independent charge for one minister of state and another minister of state.
Not just this, DMK has made demands for specific portfolios — shipping, surface transport, communications and environment. It's learnt that it wants railways too which has already been promised to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. Mamata, in fact, is not asking for any other Cabinet berth, although she wants five ministers of state, including one in home ministry.
Late Thursday night, Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh is learnt to have called up Karunanidhi to reason out with him. There were indications that the Dravidian leader would eventually relent. Sources in the DMK also said that the party would not boycott the swearing-in ceremony on Friday, which means Karunanidhi and his team are unlikely to take the morning flight back to Chennai.
Still, it will be interesting to see how this game of brinkmanship plays out and how much the Congress gives in to DMK's demands. Having won 206 Lok Sabha seats, the Congress was expected to dictate terms to its allies. If it succumbs to DMK's demands now, it will appear vulnerable to blackmail by allies.
Apart from DMK, the deal with other allies appears to have been stitched up. Other than Mamata, other Trinamool ministers will be Saugata Roy, Sisir Adhikari, Dinesh Trivedi, Sultan Ahmad and Mukul Roy. They are likely to be adjusted as MoS in the ministries of rural development, urban affairs, health, tourism, culture or I&B.
Congress is said to have reached an agreement with Sharad Pawar's NCP — status quo is expected to stay with Pawar retaining agriculture and Praful Patel, civil aviation. There were unconfirmed reports about NCP nudging Congress for another post, possibly that of a junior minister.
The stand-off with DMK threatens to cast a shadow over the swearing-in of the Manmohan Singh government and take attention away from ministry making. Congress had to concentrate on firefighting on a day which began on an uncertain note with Singh calling off a scheduled 10.30am appointment with President Pratibha Patil.
``Congress's proposal is not acceptable to DMK. Our leader Karunanidhi has decided to support the government from outside,'' said T R Baalu, Karunanidhi's close associate after the failure of several rounds of negotiations to resolve the deadlock. Sources in DMK said the party has shrugged aside Congress's ``discreet hints'' to drop Baalu and Raja, both Cabinet ministers in the outgoing government, with a less than satisfactory track record.
It's learnt that DMK has asked for Cabinet berths for the controversial duo and Karunanidhi's grand-nephew, Dayanidhi Maran. It has demanded that Karunanidhi's son Azhagiri and daughter Kanimozhi be given independent charge of important ministries of railways and health. MoS slots for Palanimanikkam and Jagatrakshakan complete the wish list.
The tough posture, exactly a repeat of what Karunanidhi did in 2004 when he threatened not to join the government in order to force the government to accept his terms and conditions, defied Congress's estimate that its enhanced size would make partners defer to it. It went against another calculation as well: that DMK's dependence on Congress's 34 MLAs in the Tamil Nadu would help sober down the Dravidian partner.
Congress reacted to what party insiders called DMK's ``gunboat diplomacy'' by charging Karunanidhi with unreasonableness. "They did not accept what was offered to them. They are making unreasonable demands. They were asking for too much,'' said party spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi in a remarkably candid comment which many felt was meant to signal party's determination to stare down DMK's challenge.
The stand-off presented Congress with a big dilemma. With a procession of parties ready for support, it does not have a problem with numbers. But it would like to keep the DMK within the government and avoid taking the help of parties like SP, BSP and RJD which it seeks to compete for the party's revival in the heartland. At the same time, if it blinks and gives in to DMK's pressure tactics, it will expose itself to the charge of succumbing to precisely the kind of politics from which it wants to break away.
Even while expressing his apparent disgust with DMK, Dwivedi said that negotiations would continue. At night, a senior leader told TOI that the issue would be settled on Friday, indicating that a compromise has been sounded out. In any case, it will be a climbdown for Congress which had decided to get the allies to settle for far less than what they had earlier secured.
Not just this, DMK has made demands for specific portfolios — shipping, surface transport, communications and environment. It's learnt that it wants railways too which has already been promised to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. Mamata, in fact, is not asking for any other Cabinet berth, although she wants five ministers of state, including one in home ministry.
Late Thursday night, Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh is learnt to have called up Karunanidhi to reason out with him. There were indications that the Dravidian leader would eventually relent. Sources in the DMK also said that the party would not boycott the swearing-in ceremony on Friday, which means Karunanidhi and his team are unlikely to take the morning flight back to Chennai.
Still, it will be interesting to see how this game of brinkmanship plays out and how much the Congress gives in to DMK's demands. Having won 206 Lok Sabha seats, the Congress was expected to dictate terms to its allies. If it succumbs to DMK's demands now, it will appear vulnerable to blackmail by allies.
Apart from DMK, the deal with other allies appears to have been stitched up. Other than Mamata, other Trinamool ministers will be Saugata Roy, Sisir Adhikari, Dinesh Trivedi, Sultan Ahmad and Mukul Roy. They are likely to be adjusted as MoS in the ministries of rural development, urban affairs, health, tourism, culture or I&B.
Congress is said to have reached an agreement with Sharad Pawar's NCP — status quo is expected to stay with Pawar retaining agriculture and Praful Patel, civil aviation. There were unconfirmed reports about NCP nudging Congress for another post, possibly that of a junior minister.
The stand-off with DMK threatens to cast a shadow over the swearing-in of the Manmohan Singh government and take attention away from ministry making. Congress had to concentrate on firefighting on a day which began on an uncertain note with Singh calling off a scheduled 10.30am appointment with President Pratibha Patil.
``Congress's proposal is not acceptable to DMK. Our leader Karunanidhi has decided to support the government from outside,'' said T R Baalu, Karunanidhi's close associate after the failure of several rounds of negotiations to resolve the deadlock. Sources in DMK said the party has shrugged aside Congress's ``discreet hints'' to drop Baalu and Raja, both Cabinet ministers in the outgoing government, with a less than satisfactory track record.
It's learnt that DMK has asked for Cabinet berths for the controversial duo and Karunanidhi's grand-nephew, Dayanidhi Maran. It has demanded that Karunanidhi's son Azhagiri and daughter Kanimozhi be given independent charge of important ministries of railways and health. MoS slots for Palanimanikkam and Jagatrakshakan complete the wish list.
The tough posture, exactly a repeat of what Karunanidhi did in 2004 when he threatened not to join the government in order to force the government to accept his terms and conditions, defied Congress's estimate that its enhanced size would make partners defer to it. It went against another calculation as well: that DMK's dependence on Congress's 34 MLAs in the Tamil Nadu would help sober down the Dravidian partner.
Congress reacted to what party insiders called DMK's ``gunboat diplomacy'' by charging Karunanidhi with unreasonableness. "They did not accept what was offered to them. They are making unreasonable demands. They were asking for too much,'' said party spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi in a remarkably candid comment which many felt was meant to signal party's determination to stare down DMK's challenge.
The stand-off presented Congress with a big dilemma. With a procession of parties ready for support, it does not have a problem with numbers. But it would like to keep the DMK within the government and avoid taking the help of parties like SP, BSP and RJD which it seeks to compete for the party's revival in the heartland. At the same time, if it blinks and gives in to DMK's pressure tactics, it will expose itself to the charge of succumbing to precisely the kind of politics from which it wants to break away.
Even while expressing his apparent disgust with DMK, Dwivedi said that negotiations would continue. At night, a senior leader told TOI that the issue would be settled on Friday, indicating that a compromise has been sounded out. In any case, it will be a climbdown for Congress which had decided to get the allies to settle for far less than what they had earlier secured.
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