But while Karunanidhi is busy grandstanding on the issue of atheism in the south, the Congress fears an adverse reaction in the north. The Congress can ill afford to be associated with godlessness, particularly with the Gujarat assembly elections coming up. Chief Minister Narendra Modi is keen to proclaim that his political rivals are denying the existence of Lord Ram. With the Supreme Court coming down heavily on the Tamil Nadu government for going ahead with a bandh, Karunanidhi can get tarred by his political opponents as both anti-god and anti-judiciary — particularly with Shipping Minister T.R. Baalu’s barely veiled strong criticism of the court on Monday.

The Tamil Nadu unit of the Congress has always nurtured a grievance that its alliance with the DMK is unequal and unfair. The DMK monopolised the gains, including plum ministerial portfolios at the Centre, while the Congress got little in return except the support of 16 MPs for Manmohan Singh’s government. When the Centre proposed disinvestment of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Karunanidhi threatened that his party would walk out of the government. The PM retreated. Now the Congress central leadership is beginning to realise why its state unit describes the alliance as a one-sided partnership. Karunanidhi has made clear his displeasure over the Centre’s procrastination in filing a fresh affidavit in the Ram Sethu case. Similarly the call for restraint by Veerappa Moily, the Congress leader in charge of Tamil Nadu, on the eve of the Tamil Nadu bandh did not suit the DMK. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi had to quickly assuage the DMK’s hurt feelings by describing Karunanidhi as one of the country’s greatest stalwarts and making clear that there is no question of taking action against his government as suggested by the court.

... contd.