PMK cuts ties with AIADMK

Chennai, October 05:The PMK on Sunday snapped ties with the AIADMK, bringing to an end a relationship formed just before the Lok Sabha polls.

The immediate provocation was the petition filed by AIADMK leader and former minister C.Ve.Shanmugam in the Madras High Court, seeking a direction to include PMK leader S. Ramadoss, his son Anbumani, son-in-law Parasuraman, brother Srinivasan, his grandson and others in a 2006 murder case.

On Sunday, an executive council meeting was hurriedly convened at Thailapuram and over 100 members, including Dr. Ramadoss, president G.K.Mani, former Union Ministers and other senior functionaries participated.

A resolution adopted in the meeting said that despite the party’s representation to AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa that Dr. Ramadoss and others had been implicated falsely, Mr. Shanmugam had filed the petition in the High Court.

A few weeks ago, Mr.Mani and former MP K. Dhanraj met Ms. Jayalalithaa at Kodanadu and brought the issue to her attention.

“The members of the executive council unanimously felt that the petition by an important functionary and former minister of the AIADMK had created an extraordinary situation and [they] vociferously condemned the development,” the resolution said.

No friendly relationship

“After this development the PMK can have no friendly relationship with the AIADMK and has decided that there is no need to continue the ties with the party. All the members unanimously felt that the relationship could not continue even for a minute,” the resolution further explained.

“PMK’s decision to quit the AIADMK alliance was taken, regardless of political gain or loss. It is the question of honour that matters,” Dr. Ramadoss told The Hindu when asked whether the decision would benefit his party politically.

He was explaining the sequence of events that led to his party’s decision. The executive council was convened on Sunday to discuss the modalities for internal party election.

But, Mr. Mani used the occasion to brief members of the council of the status of the 2006 murder case.

The PMK, which was part of the DMK alliance in Tamil Nadu in the 2006 Assembly elections, parted ways with the DMK and joined hands with the AIADMK in 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

–Agencies