Bharat Ratna, the country’s top civilian award, has become the new weapon for the ruling AIADMK and the opposition DMK , the two main protagonists of Tamil Nadu politics
By Sunday evening, the State cabinet which met to invoke Article 161 of the Constitution seeking remission from life sentence for the seven assassins of former Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi, also disclosed that it has recommended to the Centre to honour late Chief Minister CN Annadurai with Bharat Ratna.
Annadurai was the founder of the DMK and was Chief Minister of the State of Tamil Nadu from 1967 to 1969.
He had demanded Dravida Nadu, a separate country for Tamils in India. As member of the Rajya Sabha, Annadurai delivered a power packed speech on May 1, 1962 demanding secession from the Indian union to form the Dravida Nadu.
But the Chinese aggression forced him to put the demand for a separate nation in backburner.
The Constitution of the DMK specifically states that creation of a separate Dravida Nadu is the agenda of the party, according to K Thirunavakarassar, the party’s ideologue and chronicler. How can a person who spoke against the integrity of India and led the anti- Hindi riots could be honoured with Bharat Ratna is the question all Dravidian parties refuse to answer.
“The demand by the AIADMK government made on Sunday is a ploy to keep the DMK in check and to score some brownie points. There are no records of the DMK demanding the top honours for Annadurai or for E V Ramasamy Naiker,” said Govindaraja Satyamurthy, veteran political commentator and columnist.
The DMK, had demanded the NDA Government at the Centre through a special resolution on August 28 that Karunanidhi should be honoured with Bharat Ratna. Interestingly, M K Stalin, the new party chief had declared in the same meeting that his top priority would be to teach the “communal” BJP a lesson and send it “lock, stock and barrel” out of power.
According to Prof R Vaidyanathan, formerly of Indian Institute of Management , Bangalore, demanding Bharat Ratna for Karunanidihi and Annadurai itself is a travesty of truth, justice and history. “Annadurai, Karunanidhi and the bunch of DMK leaders observed August 15, 1947 as a day of mourning. Karunanidhi, who was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu in 1989 did not receive the Indian Peace Keeping Force which was sent to Sri Lanka o restore normalcy in the northern region of the island nation. Hundreds of Indian soldiers including many from Tamil Nadu had sacrificed their lives at the altar of duty in Sri Lanka,” pointed out Prof Vaidtanathan.
The AIADMK had demanded Bharat Ratna for its former leader J Jayalalithaa. But Jayalalithaa had been convicted and sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment by the Special Court in Bangalore in the Disproportionate Asset case which was upheld by the Supreme Court. Justice Ranjit Singh Sarkaria, the Supreme Court judge who was appointed by the then Indira Gandhi government to probe the allegations of corruption against the then Karunanidhi government had found that there were “cogent, convincing and reliable” evidences in the charges against the DMK leader.
“The demands for Bharat Ratna for Jayalalithaa, Karunanidhi and Annadurai are only attempts to keep the cadre in good humour. These demands have no relevance and none of them deserve any honours,” said Rameshan, veteran journalist.