Anbumani wants Ramadoss camp MLAs ousted from House posts

CHENNAI: PMK’s ‘ownership’ battle between founder S Ramadoss and son Anbumani Ramadoss has spilt over to the Assembly as the son’s camp has petitioned the Speaker to remove GK Mani, who has been siding with the father, from the post of Assembly floor leader on Thursday.

Anbumani camp requested the Speaker to recognise Dharmapuri MLA SP Venkateshwaran as the new floor leader and allocate a new seat to him in the Assembly, as the session is scheduled to commence on October 14. Anbumani camp has also targeted Salem West MLA Arul, appointed by founder Ramadoss as the spokesperson, reminding the Speaker of his ‘removal’ from the party and asking the speaker to divest him of the party whip post.

The 5-member Assembly party of PMK is all set to witness battles inside the House on the legitimacy of rival camps, as three legislative members have approached the Speaker in support of the Anbumani-led camp. PMK (Anbumani camp) spokesperson K Balu, along with MLAs SP Venkateshwaran, S Sadhasivam and C Sivakumar, handed over the petitions to the Assembly secretary and private secretary to the Speaker.

“We have handed over two petitions. One is to remove GK Mani from the post of Assembly floor leader of the party and to appoint Venkateshwaran as the new one in his place. The second letter is to inform that Salem West MLA Arul Ramadas has been removed from the party as well as from the post of party whip,” Balu told reporters.

He added that a meeting of the MLAs was held in the party office in Panaiyur on Wednesday, and a decision was taken to remove GK Mani and replace him with Venkateshwaran. “We have removed Arul from the party. Despite informing the Speaker, no action has been taken,” Balu said.