CHENNAI: A combative Anbumani Ramadoss, the PMK’s Chief Ministerial candidate, on Wednesday threw the gauntlet at his DMK rival M K Stalin, challenging him for a one-on-one debate on issues including the Sri Lankan Tamils genocide, inter-state water disputes and prohibition.
Despite the DMK responding to him through a little known former MP from the Vanniyar community, the PMK Youth Wing leader appeared unrelenting.
Reiterating his unanswered questions, Anbumani asked why the DMK government did not take steps to stop the genocide of Tamils in Lanka and charged the DMK with betraying the State on Mullaiperiyar and Cauvery disputes as well as the ceding of Katchatheevu.
On the DMK painting the PMK as a party hopper for every election, he said the DMK too had a history of switching alliances many times and it should not throw stones from a glass house. After strongly opposing former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the DMK formed an alliance with her in 1980. The DMK which lashed out at the BJP joined hands with the saffron party in 1999. Having flayed Vijayakanth in the run up to the 2011 Assembly election, it had now accepted his leadership for an all party delegation, he said.
It was Stalin’s family which exploited the cadre’s hard work to make members of the same family to occupy many positions, he said and added father was Chief Minister, son deputy Chief Minister, daughter an MP while another son, son-in-law and grand son were Union Ministers.
On DMK’s claim that it provided reservation for Vanniyars, Anbumani said the DMK government was forced to concede that due to the agitation of the PMK which lost 21 cadres in the struggle. He reminded Stalin that the PMK was able to win an MP seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, while the DMK was wiped out.
Anbumani, in an act of atonement, apologised to the people for forming alliance with the DMK and AIADMK in the past and asserted that his party would not align with both the Dravidian parties again.