Ramadoss expels son Anbumani from PMK in dramatic party feud
PMK founder S Ramadoss expels son and former union minister R Anbumani from the primary membership of the party. What led to Ramadoss expelling his son Anbumani? we explain here..
Chennai: In a dramatic escalation of the internal feud within the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), party founder Dr. S. Ramadoss has expelled his son and former Union Minister, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, from the primary membership of the party. The decision comes after a prolonged power struggle between the father-son duo, which intensified following Ramadoss's move to appoint his grandson, Mukundan, as the president of the party's youth wing.
The expulsion was executed based on 16 allegations levelled against Anbumani, to which he failed to provide a satisfactory explanation by the September 10 deadline set by the party's disciplinary committee.
The Roots of the Conflict: Boycott and Counter-Actions
The rift within the PMK leadership became publicly evident on May 16 during a consultative meeting in Tailapuram, Villupuram district. Called by Dr. Ramadoss, the meeting was boycotted by a significant majority of the party's administrators. Key absentees included Anbumani Ramadoss, MLAs Maylam Sivakumar, Dharmapuri Venkateswaran, Mettur Sadasivam, and state treasurer Thilagabama.
This mass boycott, which saw 80 percent of the leadership stay away, was a significant show of strength for Anbumani and a direct challenge to the founder's authority. An upset Ramadoss responded by announcing the removal of various party administrators. In a tit-for-tat move, Anbumani also began issuing his own lists of removals and appointments, creating a parallel power structure within the party and plunging the PMK into a state of confusion.
Formal Allegations and Ultimate Expulsion
The conflict reached a point of no return in August. During a general body meeting on August 17 chaired by Dr. Ramadoss, 16 formal allegations were made against Anbumani. The party's disciplinary committee sent a notice to Anbumani on the same day, seeking his explanation and setting a deadline of August 31. As no appropriate response was received, the matter was discussed in the PMK state executive committee meeting on September 4.
After this meeting, Dr. Ramadoss publicly stated that a final notice had been sent, giving Anbumani until September 10 to explain himself. With the deadline passing without a satisfactory response, the party has now taken the ultimate step of expelling its most prominent face and former presidential candidate, marking a seismic shift in Tamil Nadu's political landscape.