CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss, who was unanimously re-elected as the party chief at the party's general council meeting near Mamallapuram on Wednesday, launched a sharp attack on the Congress and the BJP, alleging that both parties were jointly conspiring against Tamil Nadu by backing the Mekedatu dam project.
He also announced that the PMK would soon expand to Andhra Pradesh, stating that office bearers from all districts of the neighbouring state would participate in a consultation meeting this Saturday as part of preparations to launch the party there.
The PMK general council unanimously re-elected Anbumani Ramadoss as party president, Vadivel Ravanan as general secretary, and Thilagabama as treasurer, following the end of the internal conflict between Ramadoss and Anbumani.
Meanwhile, Anbumani accused both the Congress and the BJP of putting Karnataka's electoral interests ahead of Tamil Nadu's rights in the Mekedatu issue. Referring to Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary's recent reply in Parliament, he termed the Centre's stand a "betrayal" of Tamil Nadu.
Without naming TNCC president Manickam Tagore directly, Anbumani mocked his reaction to the PMK's criticism, saying the Congress leader had "rolled up his sleeves" in anger. "We have faced police firing, lathi charges and imprisonment. You may not even have been born then. We are carrying out constructive politics," he said, warning that the PMK would not be intimidated.
He further claimed that the PMK had won several Assembly seats by contesting independently, while alleging that the Congress could not even win a councillor's post on its own. He also said he would closely watch whether Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is scheduled to visit Tamil Nadu on August 1, would speak in support of Tamil Nadu's stance on the Mekedatu project.
Calling for political unity on the Cauvery issue, Anbumani urged Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to convene an all-party meeting and lead a delegation of political leaders and MPs to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He alleged that while political parties in Karnataka remained united on water issues, Tamil Nadu's leaders were divided by "ego".
The PMK chief also urged the State government to waive all cooperative bank loans taken by farmers, estimating that Rs 15,000 crore would be sufficient. Warning of severe drought conditions due to the expected impact of a "Super El Niño", he appealed to the government to prioritise farmers in the upcoming State Budget.
Announcing the party's future programmes, he said PMK would launch a two-year statewide prohibition awareness movement on Gandhi Jayanti, October 2, under the leadership of MLA Sowmiya Anbumani.