Already driven by factionalism over the leadership row between the father-son duo in the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), members of the faction headed by party founder Dr. S. Ramadoss staged staged a demonstration in New Delhi against the Election Commission of India (ECI) for recognising his estranged son Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss as the party president.The agitation, led by former PMK President and Chief Patron G. K. Mani, MLA, was held at Jantar Mantar. During the protest, party cadres raised slogans denouncing the ECI for allegedly acting unilaterally in recognising Dr. Anbumani as the party president.
Speaking after the protest, Mani said that the Delhi High Court, while hearing a plea filed by supporters of Dr. Ramadoss, had rejected the ECI’s decision to recognise Dr. Anbumani as the party president as the documents submitted by him to the ECI were invalid. Hence, he said, Dr. Anbumani could not claim himself as the party president and accused the ECI of acting in a unilateral manner.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anbumani, also a former Union Minister, told reporters at Villupuram in Tamil Nadu, on the sidelines of a party meeting, that he was the real president of the party and that his position had been recognised by the ECI.