Kumaramangalam had said yesterday that Cabinet decisions were a collective responsibility and had criticised Jayalalitha for attacking the government on the Bhagwat issue despite her party being a ruling partner. But following her threat, he ``clarified'' that his comments ``regarding collective responsibility did not need the approval of the Prime Minister.''

If that led to more confusion, it was cleared later in the night when party general secretary M Venkaiah Naidu confirmed that Vajpayee had already said that ``the remarks attributed to Kumaramangalam were his (the Minister's) personal views.'' He said that Kumaramangalammust have made an ``off-the-cuff'' remark. ``Nothing should be read into it.''

Whether this placates Jayalalitha -- or whether she wants a more categorical rebuttal -- is hard to tell. What was clear was that her threat rattled the BJP top brass now in Panaji for the national executive. Ironically, earlier this morning, Vajpayee had said that his government would continue to enjoy a majority even if the AIADMK withdrew support. He left Panaji later to witness the naval exercises aboard INS Viraat somewhere in the Arabian Sea.

The AIADMK's stinging reaction to Kumaramangalam's statement, issued in Chennai, said: ``He (Prime Minister) need only tell us (that he agrees with Kumaramangalam) and in one hour we will be at the Rashtrapati Bhavan informing the President that we are no longer supporting the government that does not want us to stay in it.'' It was signed by V R Nedunchezhian and seven other party seniors.

The statement said that since Kumaramangalam was a Cabinet minister belonging to the BJP,they were taking his words seriously. ``In case the Prime Minister does not clarify the position of the BJP in the matter, our party will not be responsible for the consequences that follow,'' they said.

A clarification from Vajpayee was necessary as ``we are not aware that he (Kumaramangalam) has been appointed the de facto prime minister and given authority to speak on behalf of the Vajpayee government,'' they said.

Asserting that the AIADMK was not worried about either alternative alliances or fresh elections, its leaders said that ``there are tested friends from the past who have in 1996 been cleansed of undesirable elements who can be our allies.'' The allusion obviously was to the Congress from which the AIADMK's adversaries G K Moopanar and P Chidambaram had walked out to form the Tamil Maanila Congress.

The AIADMK leaders also accused the Samata Party, Trinamool Congress and a section of the BJP of functioning in a manner ``guaranteed to ensure the collapse of his government'' and wanted theprime minister to take up with them their ``tendentious and malicious'' statements against Jayalalitha.

They said that the AIADMK had several times made it clear that it would not be responsible for the fall of the government. ``However, when a section of the BJP and the friends of this faction in other parties are determined to bring down the government, then there is little we can do,'' he added.

About Mamata Banerjee's endorsement of Kumaramangalam's remarks, the AIADMK leaders dubbed them ``intemperate and in extremely poor taste.''

This statement coincided with Law Minister Thambi Durai's retort to Kumaramangalam in the Capital in which he dubbed Kumaramangalam's remark ``totally uncalled for.'' He said the minister's commnets reflect his confused state of mind and ``desperation to please his new masters,'' he said.

Durai also attacked Mamata saying that quite a few Cabinet decisions had been put on hold or not implemented just to appease her.

He criticised the Samata Party forspreading ``misleading reports'' about Jayalalitha's stand on the Bhagwat isuue. He pointed out that Jayalalitha had never said that Fernandes was involved in corruption but demanded that the charges levelled against him by the sacked Admiral be probed.