PMK youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Sunday claimed that his party was routed in the recent Lok Sabha election because the people of Tamil Nadu “believed in the lies of the DMK” and rejected the “truth spoken by the PMK”. He also blamed the media, 80% of which, he believed, was biased in favour of the DMK, for the PMK’s electoral losses.

Addressing the general body meeting of the Advocates’ Forum for Social Justice, the PMK’s legal wing, he contended that the results of the election had not changed anything. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has retained power, the AIADMK government continues in the State and DMK president M.K. Stalin continues to daydream about becoming Chief Minister,” he said. According to him, the PMK had aligned with the AIADMK to protect the interests of Tamil Nadu.

The media, he alleged, did not highlight the PMK’s fight against tobacco and alcohol, including its role in closing down liquor outlets on National Highways, its focus on healthcare and the legal fight against the Salem-Chennai greenfield corridor. “But some of [PMK founder] Dr. Ramadoss’s comments are being blown out of proportion,” he said.

‘Unfairly targeted’

Dr. Ramadoss, on his part, claimed that he and his party were being unfairly targeted because he was a Vanniyar.

“Had some other leader spearheaded these protests and achieved the political goals that I have, he would have been called a political gnani,” he said. The media, according to him, did not honestly appraise leaders and instead cheered on politicians “who don’t even know India’s Independence Day”.

Cites RSS example

Urging the party’s legal wing to work for the PMK “like what the RSS is to the BJP”, he claimed that whenever there was trouble in a village, in places like Ponparappi and Cuddalore, one group of lawyers reached the spot first with a pre-written petition to provide legal assistance, resulting in the filing of cases under the provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. He wanted PMK lawyers to reach the site first and be at the forefront of fighting for the people.

Advocates’ Forum for Social Justice president K. Balu said that though the forum was working for social causes beyond caste, it was still being viewed through a caste lens.

Resolutions including those seeking representation for Tamil Nadu in the appointment of Supreme Court judges, pushing for judges from the State to be appointed the head of the Madras High Court and seeking reservation in promotions in Central government jobs were passed at the meeting.