Letter from Bangalore: Waiting for Jaya's next move

Two years ago, the entire political class here had agreed that Jayaram Jayalalithaa's return to power in neighbouring Tamil Nadu would become a "headache " to Karnataka.

Everyone, at that point of time, believed that the newly-appointed chief minister of the AIADMK government would create all kinds of problems for Karnataka particularly on the sharing of the Cauvery waters, a century-old problem.

That she did create problems on the issue by going to the Supreme Court when Karnataka could not fulfill its obligation as per the Cauvery water dispute tribunal interim order is just one aspect of the strange manner in which state politicians have come to view Jayalalithaa.

But, Karnataka politicians are now wondering if they should again get their headache pills ready, like they did the whole of last year, as they watch with a strange mixture of amusement and a certain amount of trepidation at the developments in Tamil Nadu.

The arrest of R.R. Gopal, editor of the Nakkeran magazine, in Chennai last week for allegedly carrying the ransom money to India's most wanted bandit, Veerappan, for the release of Kannada film star, Rajkumar, during the 108 kidnap episode in 2000, has given enough reasons for Karnataka politicians to closely follow the politics of the neighbouring state.

The first cause for concern is that the arrest is being done on the basis of a book written by none other than a former director general of police (DGP) of Karnataka, C. Dinakar, who held the post during the kidnapping episode of Rajkumar.

In his book Veerappan's Prize Catch: Rajkumar, Dinakar alleged that the Karnataka government paid Rs100 million in ransom money to Veerappan through Gopal. But Gopal failed in his mission because he stole the money, the retired cop alleged in his book.

When the book was released during the peak of the Nagappa kidnapping episode of Veerappan in 2002, the entire political class of Karnataka forgot its differences and came out openly against Dinakar. The simple point made was: what was Dinakar doing when this amount was allegedly being given as ransom amount. He should have resigned in protest and exposed the government.

Jayalalithaa had herself gone on record, nine days after Nagappa was kidnapped, to say that Karnataka paid a ransom of Rs300 million, a point that was reportedly made by a law officer before a court in Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu in a case involving P. Nedumaran, who played a stellar role in the release of Rajkumar.

"Such wild insinuations need to be checkmated especially when they are made by people in responsible positions. I deny them as false," S.M. Krishna, Karnataka chief minister, had said within one hour of that charge being made. He later also termed it a "malicious lie."

It is well known in government and film industry circles that some amount of money was paid to Veerappan for the release of Rajkumar. The figures remain in the realm of speculation. But, nobody has in the last two years even suspected that the government would part with money for ransom.

As Karnataka's home minister, Mallikarjuna Kharge, asked "under what government head was the ransom paid."

"It is obvious that she wants to link the payment of ransom and, maybe, the kidnapping itself to her arch rival and DMK chief, Muthuvel Karunanidhi, for her own political reasons. But, who knows what she is going to say next," said a senior politician here.

And, as developments normally unfold in characteristic dramatic fashion, particularly when political temperatures rise in the neighbouring state, Karnataka's political class awaits with bated breath, headache pills kept not far away.