Narrow personal rivalries have driven political decisions in Tamil Nadu since the 1970s. There's more in store for the state as the current CM goes all out to overturn many key projects of the previous government, writes Sundharabuddhan
Politics in Tamil Nadu is in a league of its own. When there is no essential ideological difference between parties, politics based on individual rivalry is unaviodable. This is what Tamil Nadu has been witnessing since the mid 1970s.
AIADMK, an offshoot of DMK, emerged out of the personal rivalry between MG Ramachandran and M Karunanidhi in 1972, when the latter ousted the former from the DMK. Of course, there are some minor differences between these two main political rivals of Tamil Nadu but there is none when it comes to political praxis.
Irrespective of his political convictions, Karunanidhi would do anything to topple Jayalalithaa and vice versa. The bitterness between the heads of ADMK and DMK has always been on the rise and when Jayalaithaa became the general secretary of ADMK it reached its peak.
They cannot see eye to eye on any matter. So, what is happening in Tamil Nadu now, reversing the previous government's policies and actions, is not surprising. This game between Karunanidhi and Jayalaithaa has been keeping political observers in good humour but at the expense of the people's welfare.
This time, as soon as she was sworn in, she declared that the new Secretariat building, a pet project of her predecessor, would be converted into a super-speciality hospital. There was almost no opposition to this move from the people because many perceived the new Secretariat building as a waste of public money.
She also scrapped the Kalaignar Medical Insurance Scheme and replaced it with a new one that gives more benefits to patients. She did away with the free TV schemes and introduced free laptops to students and many other freebies.
Recently, she sacked six Cabinet colleagues but that didn't evoke much criticism except some mild murmurs from certain quarters. Many saw it as internal matter of the ADMK. However, her announcement to shift the Anna Centenary Library from Kotturpuram to the DPI campus at Nungambakkam has provoked severe opposition from both the public and intellectuals.
Politics in Tamil Nadu is in a league of its own. When there is no essential ideological difference between parties, politics based on individual rivalry is unaviodable. This is what Tamil Nadu has been witnessing since the mid 1970s.
AIADMK, an offshoot of DMK, emerged out of the personal rivalry between MG Ramachandran and M Karunanidhi in 1972, when the latter ousted the former from the DMK. Of course, there are some minor differences between these two main political rivals of Tamil Nadu but there is none when it comes to political praxis.
Irrespective of his political convictions, Karunanidhi would do anything to topple Jayalalithaa and vice versa. The bitterness between the heads of ADMK and DMK has always been on the rise and when Jayalaithaa became the general secretary of ADMK it reached its peak.
They cannot see eye to eye on any matter. So, what is happening in Tamil Nadu now, reversing the previous government's policies and actions, is not surprising. This game between Karunanidhi and Jayalaithaa has been keeping political observers in good humour but at the expense of the people's welfare.
This time, as soon as she was sworn in, she declared that the new Secretariat building, a pet project of her predecessor, would be converted into a super-speciality hospital. There was almost no opposition to this move from the people because many perceived the new Secretariat building as a waste of public money.
She also scrapped the Kalaignar Medical Insurance Scheme and replaced it with a new one that gives more benefits to patients. She did away with the free TV schemes and introduced free laptops to students and many other freebies.
Recently, she sacked six Cabinet colleagues but that didn't evoke much criticism except some mild murmurs from certain quarters. Many saw it as internal matter of the ADMK. However, her announcement to shift the Anna Centenary Library from Kotturpuram to the DPI campus at Nungambakkam has provoked severe opposition from both the public and intellectuals.
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