Tamil actor and PMK vice-president Ranjith quit the party on Tuesday in protest against its decision to tie-up with the AIADMK for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
He is the second office-bearer of the party to resign since it entered the AIADMK-led alliance. Last week, Rajeshwari Priya, an office-bearer of the youth wing, quit the PMK.
“The PMK’s decision to have an electoral understanding with the AIADMK has shattered my dreams of working for the betterment of Tamil Nadu. It is a painful decision, but nevertheless, I had to take it because the PMK has changed its ideology and principles like somebody changing a shirt,” Mr. Ranjith told journalists at a press conference in Coimbatore on Tuesday.
“Until recently, the PMK was a harsh critic of the ruling AIADMK on several issues. It had criticised the AIADMK government on the issue of prohibition, but has now joined hands with the very regime that sells liquor,” he said.
‘A betrayal’
Similarly, on the issue of the Salem-Chennai green corridor project, the PMK had conducted signature campaigns and opposed the AIADMK government for taking up the project. Now, by joining hands with the AIADMK, it had betrayed the people, he said.
Taking a dig at PMK youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss, Mr. Ranjith said that when Mr. Ramadoss contested the 2016 Assembly election with the ‘Maatram, Munnetram, Anbumani’ slogan, lakhs of youth rallied behind him with the hope of [creating] a better Tamil Nadu. But by aligning with the ruling party, he had dashed their hopes.