Chennai: Accusing Anbumani of indulging in “anti-party-activities”, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder S.Ramadoss announced that his son was expelled from the party’s working president post as well as from the party’s primary membership.
Stating that the party’s disciplinary committee had framed 16 charges against Anbumani, Ramadoss said that his son failed to submit a reply or justification despite party high command’s repeated show cause notices.
“By refusing to answer, he has accepted the charges and this shows he has no defence from his side,” Ramadoss told reporters at his residence in Villupuram district on Thursday morning. “Anbumani betrayed the very soul of the movement.”
The friction stemmed from their stance on alliances for the next year’s Tamil Nadu elections. While Ramadoss preferred to wait before committing to an alliance, Anbumani was keen on immediately aligning the party with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Anbumani’s unilateral moves are unbecoming of a political leader, the PMK founder said, adding that his son’s recent conduct is “unprecedented arrogance”.
“By insulting the party leadership and the fellow functionaries, he is acting against the interests of the party. He has proved that he is unfit to hold any position in the party including the party’s primary membership.”
Political analyst Raveendran Duraisamy said that the split would reduce the electoral prospects of both the factions in the northern part of Tamil Nadu.
“Both of them are very well-aware about the consequences of this fight. If the split goes real before the election, then each faction would go to a different alliance. While Ramadoss may prefer the DMK-led alliance, Anbumani would prefer the NDA. However, we have to wait and see if the DMK will be able to accommodate Ramadoss since they already have VCK in their alliance,” Duraisamy told ThePrint.
Nevertheless, PMK lawyer and senior leader K.Balu told ThePrint that Ramadoss does not have powers to remove Anbumani from the party positions and party’s primary membership.
“He (Anbumani) is not the working president of the party, he is the president of the party. He has convened a general body meeting with the Madras High Court’s approval and resolutions were passed in the meeting, which was accepted by all the members of the council. Although Ayya (Ramadoss) is the founder, as per the by-law of the party, he cannot remove Anbumani,” Balu told ThePrint.
‘Start your own party’
Ramadoss alleged that his son imported a listening device from London that was planted on his personal sofa to spy on him.
“What can be more shameful than a son snooping on his father,” the PMK founder said, adding that it has left him deeply pained.
Anbumani had instructed the district secretaries in Dharmapuri and Salem to not provide mic during meetings and to restrict the number of people attending the meetings, he alleged.
The party, he asserted, cannot be claimed as a hereditary possession.
“This is my party, created brick by brick. Even a son has no right to claim ownership. If he wants, he can start his own party. I have told him this on three occasions,” Ramadoss told the reporters.
The octogenarian asserted that Anbumani’s removal was not a setback for the party and him, but a step toward growth. “He was blocking the growth of the party and now, by removing him, the path is clear.”
He declared that the post of working president would remain vacant for now. “I will decide later on whom to entrust with that responsibility,” Ramadoss said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)