CHENNAI: A day after PMK founder S Ramadoss’s diatribe against his son and party president Anbumani Ramadoss and firm assertion that he will be the founder-president, the latter maintained his conspicuous refrain from openly commenting on the ongoing turmoil within the party and announced a 100-day walkathon on Friday to highlight the ‘poor governance’ of the incumbent DMK government and reclaim the rights of the people.
He also held a discussion with district secretaries of the party at Panaiyur (ECR) in which, sources said, the secretaries of 108 of the 117 district units participated, besides MLAs SP Venkateshwaran (Dharmapuri), S Sadhasivam (Mettur) and C Sivakumar (Mailam), who have already extended their open support to Anbumani in the ongoing tussle between him and his father.
Meanwhile, Ramadoss told the media on Friday that he would be the president of the party “until his last breath”, indicating further stubbornness in his stance. On Thursday, he had said that the rift could be resolved if Anbumani agrees for him (Ramadoss) to be the party’s president until 2026 and that he would decide on the party’s electoral alliances for the 2026 Assembly elections.
In a statement, Anbumani said the walkathon to reclaim the rights of the Tamil Nadu people “that have been lost under the present government” is a move aimed at welfare of the entire Tamil people and not related to one particular party. The statement said the party president’s aim is to win over to 10 basic rights of the people which includes right to social justice, women’s right to live free from violence, employment, farming and food, development, public services, health and education, freedom from alcohol and drugs, sustainable urban development, and a healthy environment.
Interestingly, though the walk is scheduled to begin on July 25, which happens to be the party founder’s birthday, the statement did not acknowledge it and instead said July 25 has been chosen since it is observed by the party as ‘Pasumai Thayagam Day’. Pasumai Thayagam is a wing of the party. Also, Anbumani released the invitation for the walkathan without Ramadoss’s photo.
While Ramadoss on Thursday accused Anbumani’s camp of luring party general secretary Vadivel Ravanan by putting him in a lavish hotel to keep him under their control, Ravanan released a short video of him having tea at a shop in Villupuram on Friday. “I am not anywhere else, but at a tea shop, closely with the working-class people. That’s who I really am. How can I go hide in a seven-star hotel as he (Ramadoss) claims?” he asked.
(With inputs from Krithika Srinivasan @ Villupuram)
