At a meeting of the party's IT wing in Chennai, Anbumani said the party was being populated with criminals.
Published Jun 28, 2025 | 6:52 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 28, 2025 | 6:52 PM
Dr. Ramadoss restructures PMK leadership, removes Anbumani from executive committee (Supplied)
Synopsis: The family feud in PMK intensified on Saturday with the party’s working president Anbumani Ramadoss questioning his father and the organisation’s founder S Ramadoss’s “thinking.”
Amidst speculation of an imminent split in the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), party working president Anbumani Ramadoss on Saturday, 28 June, questioned some of the decisions his father and the organisation’s founder S Ramadoss have recently made.
At a meeting of the party’s IT wing in Chennai, Anbumani said the party was being populated with criminals. He was referring to the recent appointment of district secretaries, district presidents, state administrators of the party, and office bearers across several districts.
“In the name of giving responsibilities in the PMK, people who had committed murder, those wanted by the police, and even robbers are being brought in. This clearly shows that these decisions are not coming from Dr Ramadoss’s original thinking,” he said.
Incidentally, Ramadoss had convened a meeting of the new office bearers at his residence on Wednesday.
On his stand on political alliances, Anbumani said he initiated discussions with the BJP with Ramadoss’s knowledge. “If my father, Dr Ramadoss, had stated earlier that the alliance should be with the AIADMK, why would I say no to it? It was only after he gave his approval that I initiated discussions with the BJP for the 2024 elections. When CV Shanmugam visited our residence in Thailapuram, I asked Dr Ramadoss the purpose of the visit, and he said it was just to give the invitation,” the younger man said.
“If he had told me then that the alliance should be with the AIADMK, I wouldn’t have objected. It was only because he agreed that the BJP members visited our home and were served meals. Now he denies all of this… He has aged and has become like a child. No one should criticise him,” Anbumani said.
He further said that the DMK was the real enemy of the PMK. “Our campaign should be against the DMK. Why has there been this sudden affection for Dr Ramadoss from the VCK and the Congress? Why this sudden fondness from VCK leader Thirumavalavan for our founder Ramadoss? Why are Vanni Arasu, Ravi Kumar, and Chinthanai Selvan suddenly praising him? Has Thirumavalavan ever praised Dr Ramadoss in the past? Why now? And why this sudden warmth from Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president Selvaperunthagai? Why this sudden visit to meet Dr Ramadoss? All this is part of a DMK conspiracy. People need to reflect on this,” he said.
TNPCC president K Selvaperunthagai visited Ramadoss at his Thailapuram residence on Friday, 27 June, which the former said was a courtesy call.
“Only now is it becoming clear within the PMK — what is crop and what is weed. According to our party bylaws, only the president, general secretary, and treasurer have the authority to convene the general council and manage the party. The developments within PMK over the past two months have caused me great mental distress,” Anbumani said.
“Because I chose to remain silent, it seemed like only Dr Ramadoss’s version was prevailing. Who would criticise their daughter-in-law in public? I waited in the hope of clarity. But I cannot keep quiet forever. My wife comes from a family with a deep political lineage. We are enduring sleepless nights, without peace. Who publicly criticises their own son and daughter-in-law? Would Dr Ramadoss have done this if it were someone else?” he asked.
Ramadoss has held Anbumani and his wife Sowmya responsible for the party’s alliance with the BJP.
The family feud within the PMK has been simmering since May after Ramadoss demoted Anbumani as the party’s working president.
Ramadoss had earlier launched a scathing and personal attack on Anbumani, alleging betrayal, humiliation, and attempts to forcefully remove him from the party he founded and nurtured for nearly five decades.
In May, Ramadoss had called for a meeting of party district secretaries at his residence, and extended invitations to 220 leaders. Only 22 attended the meeting. Among those who skipped the meeting was the party’s working president, Anbumani.
