VILLUPURAM: Contrary to expectations from party functionaries that the reconciliatory talks reportedly done by RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy and former Chennai Mayor Saidai Duraisamy would end the ongoing turmoil within the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), party founder S Ramadoss on Thursday firmly asserted that the only way to end the conflict between him and his son Anbumani Ramadoss would be to accept his leadership as the founder-president, at least until the 2026 Assembly elections are over.
Ramadoss said that he will decide on the party’s alliance for the 2026 elections. “Parties wishing to ally with the PMK know what is good and bad. They will decide. As the founder, I will call the general council when I deem fit. I will decide on alliances,” he said, adding that there have been no talks either with the BJP or actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam so far.
He clarified that he has no intention to remove Anbumani from the party and the latter can become the president after 2026. Ramadoss said he has not informed the Election Commission of India regarding the change of president because he still believed a resolution is possible.
He said Gurumurthy and Duraisamy mediated in their personal capacity, but their efforts ended in a “draw” as Anbumani was not willing to compromise on his stance. After the rift widened, though Ramadoss announced that he has taken over as party president and has demoted Anbumani as working president, Anbumani has maintained that the founder does not have the power to do so and he continues to remain the president.
“Do I not have the right as the founder, who built the party brick by brick and protected it for 46 years, to continue as president for another year or two. I feel ashamed to even ask this,” he told the media at his residence in Thailapuram here.
Reiterating his earlier allegations that Anbumani was trying to shunt him behind the gates of Thailapuram residence, Ramadoss said his son wanted everything for himself and tried to throw out the person who brought him inside the party.
“There can be a disciple who surpasses his guru. However, a son cannot surpass his father,” he said, adding that just as Lord Rama listened to his father King Dasaratha and went into exile to the forests for 14 years, Anbumani should also listen to him. Ramadoss alleged that Anbumani and his supporters were “stabbing” him in the heart while claiming that he is their “family deity”. “They call me Ayya (with respect), but try to throw me into the abyss,” he said.
Asserting that the party cadres and the support base were fully behind him, Ramadoss said he saw the supporters of his party as his guiding force.