Welcome all-party panel in Tamil Nadu
Continuing with his bipartisan approach, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday constituted a 13-member all-party advisory committee of MLAs to fight the Covid. The idea apparently is to bring the collective wisdom of all stakeholders to the table to sharpen the administrative response to the pandemic. That Tamil Nadu perhaps is the only state to have such a panel—at a time when no other party wants to share the optics of providing relief to the people—shows the maturing of Stalin into a confident leader who puts the welfare of the state over individual glory. What is indeed significant is the inclusion of the AIADMK, the DMK’s arch-enemy, in the committee. C Vijayabaskar, health minister in the outgoing AIADMK government, will represent his party on the panel led by Stalin. This does not mean that their mutual animosity is waning; it only indicates that they can still do business within the framework of democracy.
That apart, the panel comprises representatives from the Congress, BJP, VCK and CPM. The other interesting factor is the inclusion of Vaiko’s MDMK, which was forced to fight on the DMK’s rising sun symbol in the April elections, and a few small parties like the Puratchi Bharatham, which is an AIADMK ally. This is perhaps the first time in ages that small parties in the state will get to have a say in policymaking. Giving elected leaders, irrespective of their place on the Assembly benches, equal space to tackle something as massive as a pandemic is a welcome confidence-building measure. It would hopefully create positive vibes and build public morale to fight the virus, while not indulging in dressing up of data to suit political conveniences.Within the first 100 days of his rule, Stalin is busy delivering on his poll promises while focusing on consolidating the goodwill of the electorate. Of course, he could look to encash the IOUs he is accumulating with smaller parties in the long run. The panel could also give him an out if the sneaky bug were to play further mischief. Who says democracy does not lend itself to good politics?