After the deluge came the torrent of criticism. A few weeks after coastal Tamil Nadu went under water, Chief Minister J Jayalithaa and her government were decried by the opposition for allegedly bungling the relief and rescue efforts.
In mid-December, M Karunanidhi, the paterfamilias of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, cited newspaper reports to question the government on the delay in the release of water from the Chembarambakkam reservoir, which was brimming even before heavy rains hit the state. The reproach pointedly cast the December 2015 floods as the dominant election plank in the assembly polls scheduled for May this year.
Sensing trouble, Jayalalithaa and her ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam responded to the challenge as only they could.
An audio message in the chief minister’s voice was circulated on WhatsApp, the messaging service, in which she is heard telling the people of the state: “This is your government. You have given me the strength to battle any situation and win. I am always for you and I will always be with you. Very soon I will rescue you from this sorrow and will ensure you attain growth and resilience. This is a promise.”
WhatsApp and social media have since then been the AIADMK’s preferred way to reach out to the public. Every day, the party’s IT wing sends out an audio clip titled “WhatsApp Bench” – a take on a popular satirical column called “Tea Kadai Bench” (Tea Shop Bench) in the Tamil daily Dinamalar – to spread its message. In these recordings, two men are heard extolling to each other the virtues of the Jayalalithaa-led state government and disparaging the DMK.
The clip circulated on January 5 articulated the AIADMK’s stand plainly. “The government took every effort for rescue and relief and within a week, normalcy was restored,” says a man. “That is all, the issue is over. Now these people are screaming rain, floods and reservoir. All this is politics.”
The next day’s clip sought to score brownie points for the AIADMK over the disbursal of compensation to the flood-affected. “There are no intermediaries at all – only Amma, the government, the bank and people,” says a man in the recording. “You cannot find a more honest and transparent government anywhere.”
Opposition unity
There’s little doubt that the December floods will feature prominently in the electioneering this year. As N Sathiyamoorthy, director of the Observer Research Foundation in Chennai, explained, “Before the Chennai floods prohibition was an issue, but the matter got settled when DMK endorsed prohibition. In a way, the floods may have added strength to the Opposition, divided as they may be, on the issue of governance. It has also revived in a way larger governance issues ahead of the elections.”
On January 5, the DMK held a large protest in Chennai to demand a judicial inquiry into the cause of the floods. At the event, as party cadres listened raptly, Karunanidhi blamed the unprecedented deluge on the “administration’s lapses” and the AIADMK’s “top-down approach to government”.
“No matter what terrible events take place in this state, what calamities occur, even if reservoirs like Chembarambakkam break open, there is a group that will continue to say ‘all of this is thanks to you [Jayalalithaa], you will rule this land once again, your sceptre will be held high once more’,” he said. “This group [the AIADMK] has even used Anna’s [former Chief Minister CN Annadurai] name for itself and rules. The time is not far when they will be given a fitting response. Very soon we will give them a response through legal means and using parliamentary democracy…”
All other opposition parties took their cue from Karunanidhi.
The Congress is planning a series of public meetings to spread awareness about the government’s failings during the floods. Meanwhile, the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam and the Pattali Makkal Katchi want the state government to answer the mounting questions.
BJP joins in
“This is definitely going to be a major election issue,” said EVKS Elangovan, president of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. “Before this crisis happened, there were other issues such as corruption charges against the present government. In every department of government, there are corruption charges against sitting ministers, including the chief minister. There are instances of government officials committing suicide due to pressure from ministers asking them to do illegal things and collect money.”
Such has been the effect of the floods that even the Bharatiya Janata Party, which initially praised the Centre’s efforts and refrained from criticising the state government, was forced to demand answers from the AIADMK.
“There are doubts among the people of Chennai regarding the floods,” said Muralidhar Rao, BJP national general secretary who is in charge of the party in the state. “In a democracy, accountability and transparency are very important. The doubts of the people have foundations. The state government has to come clean. It has to set up investigations into this issue.”
The state government, feeling the heat, released a statement by Chief Secretary K Gnanadesikan on December 13, dismissing allegations of mismanagement and a delay in releasing water from the Chembarambakkam reservoir. Gnandesikan described the charges as “malicious” and “canards”.
That will not mollify the opposition, though. As the state moves closer to elections, DMK and others are likely to ramp up pressure on the AIADMK. It’s poll time indeed for Tamil Nadu.