Fernandes peace mission a non-starter

By M. R. Venkatesh

CHENNAI, APRIL 5. A last-ditch patch-up effort by the NDA convener and former Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes, to bring back the MDMK into the DMK-led front for the Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, was almost a non-starter today, with its leader, Mr. Vaiko, in no mood, to respond to such overtures.

As a fresh crisis seemed to have gripped the State NDA, Mr. Fernandes airdashed from Hyderabad for a meeting here with Mr. Vaiko. It went on for nearly three hours at a hotel near the Chennai airport. Both later left for Bangalore to participate in an NDA rally there.

However, after their talks, when quizzed by the media at the airport, Mr. Vaiko looked unrelenting on the MDMK's decision to field candidates in all constituencies except in those contested by the BJP. Mr. Fernandes, on the other hand, was quite defensive about his last-minute `peace mission'.

Even as one of the MDMK Ministers in the Union Cabinet, Mr. Senji Ramachandran, is learnt to have some

re-thinking about the party's decision after what Mr. Vaiko termed `being humiliated' by the DMK in the seat-sharing talks, a section in the MDMK also feels that it would be `safer' to go with the DMK if the MDMK is to have some representation in the Assembly.

Mr. Ramachandran even reportedly called on the senior DMK Minister and one of the members of the party's election panel, Mr. Durai Murugan, to explore the possibility of a reconciliation, but the latter denied that any such development had taken place.

Sources say the DMK president and Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, might be willing to `forgive' Mr. Vaiko's `hasty decision'. But even then, the underlying currents between the DMK's Youth Wing secretary, Mr. M. K. Stalin, who has played a big role in roping in new allies one after another under his `father's guidance', and Mr. Vaiko will still be a touchy affair.

It was under these circumstances that Mr. Fernandes' bid to make a peace deal was seen as politically significant, as he enjoys an equation with both Mr. Karunanidhi and Mr. Vaiko.

Rebuffing queries whether he had come with a message from the Prime Minister, Mr. A. B. Vajpayee, the NDA convener said he had not come to Chennai with any kind of mission.

Asked whether there was a possibility of a rapprochement between the MDMK and the DMK, Mr. Fernandes said, ``it is not part of my agenda; I have not come here with an agenda''. But the MDMK was very much part of the NDA, he added.

On the MDMK nominees' continuance in the NDA Ministry becoming `untenable' because of the former's poll decision, Mr.Fernandes said, ``we will deal with that when it comes''. Mr. Vaiko added that it was upto Mr. Vajpayee to decide on that issue. Mr. Karunanidhi later said, neither Mr. Vajpayee nor Mr. Fernandes had spoken to him on this issue.

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