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Spitting at the moon

When the Buddha was heartily abused by one of his enemies, he took it very calmly, not vouchsafing a single word in reply. "Lord," one of his disciples remonstrated, "haven't you heard what he is saying. Why don't you curse him?"

The Enlightened One smiled. "If a man spits at the moon," he said, "it just falls back on his own face. What can I do that is worse than what he is doing to himself?"

Today it is Jayalalitha's turn to spit fire, the object of her wrath being the Vajpayee ministry. If it isn't the Jain Commission report, it is the distribution of the Cauvery waters. And if it isn't the Cauvery, it is the revenue department.

When issues fail the AIADMK chief, she turns to personalities. Consider this: in the past six weeks, Jayalalitha accused L K Advani of being soft on militancy, accused an unnamed person in the Prime Minister's Office of bribery, besides umpteen threats to withdraw support.

Obviously, the Vajpayee ministry is not being 'helpful' enough in the various court cases taking up Jayalalitha's time. That is the only reason I can think of to explain the increasing shrillness -- and silliness -- of her charges.

Allegations that L K Advani condones anti-national activity are unworthy of comment. And the PMO has called Jayalalitha's bluff, asking her to back up the wild charge that the former chief of the Enforcement Directorate, M K Bezbaruah, was shifted after an influential person was bought off.

But Jayalalitha's much-publicised unhappiness didn't end with her concern for Bezbaruah (never a favourite of the AIADMK before). She has also ranted that Javed Chaudhary, N K Singh's successor as revenue secretary, hounded her associates vindictively when he was head of the Enforcement Directorate. The implication is that he shall continue to do so in his new post, which has the Enforcement Directorate under its wing.

This last blast proves just how far Jayalalitha's allegations are removed from the truth. Javed Chaudhary's tenure at the Enforcement Directorate ended in May 1995. He was succeeded by H P Kumar, then the director of the Narcotics Control Bureau, who held additional charge of the office for five months.

The searches carried out by the Enforcement Directorate -- the basis of the cases against Jayalalitha's friends -- began in July 1995. And those searches were carried out under the aegis of H P Kumar, not Javed Chaudhary.

If Jayalalitha and her associates have problems with the Enforcement Directorate, she must look slightly closer home than to the new revenue secretary. The decision to investigate was made on the basis of charges made by no other than Dr Subramanian Swamy, her political guide and mentor today!

If that isn't funny enough, consider this: every case against the AIADMK chief and her pals started only when a Congressman was the union finance minister. Given that the AIADMK is making overtures to the Congress, Dr Manmohan Singh probably won't open his mouth. But can he deny that uncomfortable fact?

Of course, it is the duty of any chief of the Enforcement Directorate to investigate if presented with sufficient evidence. (I think we can safely assume that Dr Subramanian Swamy did a marvellous job when collecting proof against Jayalalitha.) So Javed Chaudhary probably would have reacted just as his successor did.

But the point is that he had nothing to do with any of the cases that are bothering the AIADMK so much today. H P Kumar was in charge of the Enforcement Directorate. M R Srinivasan was the revenue secretary. And Dr Manmohan Singh was their boss, the man whose signature is on the files permitting the investigations against the AIADMK chief.

It could well be that Javed Chaudhary's reputation as a clean officer bothers Jayalalitha. But he certainly did not hound or harass Jayalalitha and her friends in 1995 as she extravagantly claims today. That is as nutty an allegation as the AIADMK's posturing over the Cauvery accord.

If Jayalalitha wants to pick a fight, let her begin with the two renowned doctors of economics -- her current ally Subramanian Swamy and her once-and-future ally Manmohan Singh, not Javed Choudhary. In any case, what is the point of making silly accusations against the home minister and the PMO? It annoys all concerned without particularly helping Jayalalitha herself.

Spitting at the moon paid no dividends twenty-six centuries ago. Why does Jayalalitha imagine that the rules of nature have changed since then?

T V R Shenoy