PMK quits Govt., NDA

By Harish Khare

NEW DELHI, FEB. 5. Two Union Ministers, Mr. N. T. Shanmugham and Mr. E. Ponnuswamy, both belonging to the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), resigned from the Atal Behari Vajpayee government today, but the Prime Minister has not yet accepted the resignations and efforts are on to make the PMK leaders change their mind. The PMK, which has five members in the Lok Sabha, has virtually snapped ties with the ruling National Democratic Alliance, setting in motion a process of minor political destabilisation at the Centre.

The resignations were sent after the two Ministers accompanied their leader, Dr. S. Ramadoss, to the Prime Minister's residence this morning when a letter was handed to Mr. Vajpayee. The PMK Ministers' resignation is widely seen as an outcome of the breakdown of the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu.

The PMK leader also gave Mr. Vajpayee a letter, th most operative part of which reads: ``We formed the NDA with the highest commitment to the cause of the people of India. And the PMK is still committed to the philosophy. But the circumstances in Tamil Nadu have made us part company with the NDA. However, we will always cherish the friendship forged with the Prime Minister for all the years to come. We will always support your Government at the time of political crisis, even if we sit in the Opposition.''

Apart from a cryptic remark by Mr. Shanmugham that ``I have tendered my resignation to the Prime Minister, and we are also quitting the NDA'', the PMK leadership remained unavailable for elaboration or explanation. Later in the evening, Dr. Ramadoss and the party MPs left for Chennai.

After Dr. Ramadoss' ``we are partying company'' visit, the Prime Minister held consultations with the senior NDA leaders in the afternoon. Among those who attended the session at Mr. Vajpayee's house were the Union Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, the Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes, and the BJP president, Mr. Bangaru Laxman.

The decision at the meeting was to keep the PMK leadership engaged in a dialogue, and to see what the central leaders could do to help redress some of Dr. Ramadoss' grievances with his alliance partners in Tamil Nadu. However, there is an awareness that the roots of the PMK chief's unhappiness can be traced to the troubled relationship between the PMK and the DMK, and that beyond a point there was little that the Prime Minister or his central colleagues can do in this matter.

Nonetheless, there is a discernible anxiety not to give the impression that the NDA is coming apart and that somehow the Prime Minister will be able to persuade all the dramatis personae not to depart from the alliance script. The anxiety is little more pronounced because of the indications that Dr. Ramadoss was already flirting with the AIADMK and that the blame for an unhinging of the ruling coalition, this time, cannot be pinned on the Opposition.

Vaiko refuses comment

PTI reports from Tiruchi:

Mr. Vaiko, leader of the MDMK, another constituent of the NDA, tonight declined to offer any comments on the resignation of the two PMK Ministers from the Union Cabinet.

When contacted, he said, ``since I do not know about the statement made in this connection by Dr. Ramadoss I have no comments to offer. Only on knowing the details can I react.''

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