Anbumani tenders apology, Father-son stand off in PMK seems to be heading for smooth ending
Chennai, June 15 (UNI) The stand off between father son in the PMK's first family appears to be heading for a smooth ending after PMK President Dr Anbumani tendering an apology to his father
and Party Founder Dr.S.Ramadoss on Sunday.
A day after the senior Ramadoss came down heavily and sharpened his attack on his son and declared that he would remain as PMK Founder and Chief till his last breadth, Dr Anbumani sought
to bury the hatchet and tendered an apology.
The apology tendered by Anbumani was expected to strengthen the reconciliatory efforts being made by party seniors, including PMK Patron G K Mani, stressing on the need for the party to remain united especially with the key Assembly elections about 10 months away.
"Ayya (as Dr Ramadoss is affectionately called), should live for more than 100 years with good health, satisfactions and happiness. As a son, It is my duty to ensure that", he said.
"If you have any angst against me, please forgive me...there is nothing wrong in a son apologising to his father", Dr Anbumani said, in what could be seen as an attempt to bring an end to the brewing stand off with his father, which at one stage seemed to have reached a dead end.
"Tell me what should I do...as a son and as Party President, I will do it", he said, adding, "PMK was founded and nurtured by you, we will work towards realising your dreams", he added.
Dr Ramadoss the attitude and activities of his son and party 'working president' Anbumani had worsened after the recent youth conference at Mammallapuram and firmly declared he would continue to remain the founder and party chief till his last breath.
Dr Ramadoss also alleged that Dr Arbumani's actions were akin to backstabbing and said he was spending sleepless nights due to the present crisis created by his son in the party.
Recently, the simmering differences in the Vanniyar-dominated Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK's),
first family, deepened further as tensions escalated between the father and son.
The differences between had widened to such an extent with Dr Ramadoss openly admitting that he had made a grave mistake by making Anbumani as the UnionMinister at the age of 35 and also accused his son of lacking leadership qualities.
PMK is a key political player in Tamil Nadu wielding considerable clout among the Vanniyars in Northern districts like Villupuram, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri and neighbouring districts.
The fresh internal political crisis in the family culminated in the resignation of PMK Founder's grandson Mukundan Parasuraman from the post of PMK Youth Wing Secretary, whose appointment to the post turned out to be the starting point of the rift between the top two leaders in the party.
In his resignation letter addressed to Anbumani, Mukundan said he was quitting due to personal reasons, while terming senior Ramadoss as his (Kula Deivam) 'Family (Ancestral) deity' and Anbumani as the 'future'.
Sources close to the party indicated that Mukundan's move was aimed at easing tensions between his grandfather Dr. Ramadoss and his uncle, Dr. Anbumani.
The resignation is seen as a gesture to reduce friction and support a more united party structure going forward.
Incidentally Dr Ramadoss' decision to elevate him to the post and stripping Dr Anbumani, a former Union Minister, from the post of Party President and making him as Working President, triggered a public spat between the father-son duo a couple of months back.
After the spat, Dr Anbumani walked out of the meeting in a huff, prompting the party Founder to announce that PMK was founded and nurtured by him and those who did not like, are free to leave.
Dr Ramadoss said his orders should be obeyed and that those not following it have no place in the party, signalling that all is not well between the father and son.
The fresh bout of confrontation between them stemmed from the fact over the issue of alliance
for the 2026 Assembly elections with Dr Ramadoss coming down hard at his son and said that
Dr Anbumani was insisting for an alliance with the BJP.
What began as a disagreement over electoral alliances has snowballed into a bitter public rift, with strong emotional and political overtones.
Turning emotional, Dr. Ramadoss declared that it was not Anbumani who erred, but he himself.
'The mistake was not made by Anbumani. I am the one who made a mistake by making him a Union Minister at the age of 35, even going against my own oath and principles,' he had said.
This confession highlights the deep regret and disillusionment Ramadoss feels about his decision to elevate his son in national politics, suggesting that his trust had been betrayed.
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