Alleging that the “sloganeering and empty rhetoric” of the Dravidian parties had resulted in Tamil Nadu losing its land, culture, language and rights over sharing of inter-State rivers, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder S. Ramadoss on Wednesday vowed that his party would lead an alternative front in future elections, beginning with the local body elections in the State.
Addressing the general council meeting of the party in Chennai, he said the DMK and the AIADMK were two sides of the same coin and the PMK would not align with the Dravidian parties in future. Earlier, the council adopted a resolution in favour of the PMK leading an alternative front. “Our resolution offers a ray of hope not just for the people of Tamil Nadu, but for all the Tamils living across the world. We lost everything under the rule of Dravidian parties and gained no benefits. We did not form the PMK to help the Dravidian parties capture power. It was formed to rule the State one day. In 2016 Assembly polls, we will fulfil the aspirations of the Tamils by emerging victorious,” he said.
“It is a much delayed decision, but a good decision,” he said, pointing out how similar decisions by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Kanshi Ram and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee paved the way for their parties capturing power in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal respectively. Stressing that the “idea of an alternative front” was conceived not to divert people's attention from the party's poor performance in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and subsequently in the 2011 Assembly elections, Dr. Ramadoss said the idea had struck him as early as in October 2009. “If we had taken the decision in 2009 itself, we could have emerged the ruling party in the 2011 elections,” he said, arguing that around 11 per cent of the voters, mostly youth in the State, voted for the AIADMK because they were left with no alternative.
“You may ask whether we are qualified to rule the State. If the DMK and AIADMK are qualified, we are thousand times better qualified for the job. The way we run Makkal TV without falling prey to the temptations of commercial gains and the way we present shadow budgets every year bear testimony to our ability to rule,” he said. Later, he told reporters that he had already discussed the issue with Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi (VCK) leader Thol Thirumavalavan, a supporter of the cause of Tamil Eelam. Asked whether the VCK would join the front proposed by him, Dr. Ramadoss said Mr. Thirumavalavan would discuss the idea with his party leaders before taking a decision.
Dr. Ramadoss also came down on the previous DMK government on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue, saying all it did was write a few letters to the Central Government. “They staged a drama,” he alleged and declared that soon Tamil Eelam would be created and he would visit Sri Lanka only after its formation.
