I am holding the reins of my party; I will give it to my daughter in future; my grandson will help her run the party: S Ramadoss

Amid the ongoing rift, tensions between PMK founder S Ramadoss and his son and party president R Anbumani may deepen following the April 23 assembly election outcome. In an interview with Jaya Menon, Ramadoss dubs Anbumani and his wife Sowmiya as betrayers and said their conflict would persist indefinitely. Asserting his authority over the faction he heads, Ramadoss says he still controlled it and, if necessary, will pass on control to his daughter, with his grandson supporting her in managing party affairs.

What are your allegations against your son Anbumani?
He has snatched my party (PMK), my symbol.

You called your son and daughter-in-law betrayers and asked voters not to vote for them and their candidates. Isn’t there no end to the fight?
There will be no end to it. There will be no compromise.

You said as long as you were alive, you will continue to hold PMK’s reins.
That is true. It is going to happen.

To whom do you plan to hand over the reins of your faction of PMK. Your daughter or grandson?
I am holding the reins of my party. If a situation arises where I must give up the reins, I will give it to my daughter. My grandson will help her run the party.

Last month Supreme Court dismissed your petitions seeking to either let your faction use 'mango' symbol or freeze it. So, isn’t it a victory to Anbumani?
Victory or defeat...some people will get defeated, some will gain victory. But the person, who got victory, will face defeat too. This is common in politics.

You accused the Election Commission of India of being unilateral and biased.
It is unilateral and biased. After this election we will fight for our rights.

In the wake of an election, shouldn’t you have ended the fight for the sake of party and cadres? You had said you love your cadres more than life itself.
He (Anbumani) is not agreeing to anything. He is not the kind to agree to anything. So many people tried to work out a compromise. Some important people tried to help break the impasse. VIT founder-chancellor G Viswanathan, former Chennai MAYOR Saidai Doraisamy and Thuglak editor S Gurumurthy. They asked us to bury the hatchet and come together.

You said AIADMK, PMK are natural allies. But EPS chose Anbumani. Why?
You must ask EPS that.

You also said AIADMK was a better partner ideologically, electorally. Then why did you reach out to DMK? Why did it not work out?
Once AIADMK was a better party. Then we chose AIADMK’s rival, DMK.

Did you team up with V K Sasikala because she was the only option left?
I had no other option.

Sasikala fielded 75 candidates, you 37 in most of the constituencies where your son has fielded candidates, including Sowmiya. How many seats can you win?
People will decide.

If you draw a blank, will you merge your faction with PMK led by Anbumani?
Not at all.

Who is your biggest enemy in this election?
Money is our biggest enemy. Only money is conducting the election. This is not a fair election. No candidate should bribe voters. No voters should take money. When parties try to bribe voters, they should throw it away. We must rid this culture of voter bribing. Every rival party is our enemy.


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