The Ruling Opposition

Though an ally of the DPA coalition in the state, PMK founder S. Ramadoss is the Government’s harshest critic

When Karunanidhi recently warned the PMK chief that “the aggressive opposition and criticism by the PMK might create tensions between the cadres of the two parties”, the 68-year-old Ramadoss retorted: “The alliance with the DMK is nothing but an electoral agreement. That was over with the elections. We will be acting as a responsible Opposition.”

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REBEL WITH A CAUSE: Ramadoss’s protests embarrass Karunanidhi

That’s no empty threat. Consider this: When the then former Union it minister Dayanidhi Maran proposed the idea of eviction of people from 140 villages to sell the land to private players for satellite development, Ramadoss forced Karunanidhi to abandon the idea the very next day. Then yielding to PMK’s pressure the Government had to shift the expansion plan of the Chennai International Airport from its northern part to the less-populated southern part.

But it was on the issue of higher education that the differences came to the fore. When Ramadoss accused the DMK regime of not controlling the ‘exorbitant’ cost of higher education, Karunanidhi asked for ‘evidence’. Ramadoss ridiculed the demand for evidence and virtually taunted the Government by asking it to act in accordance with the ‘Prohibition of Capitation Fee’ passed by the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK regime in 1992. Following sustained pressure from PMK, K. Ponmudi, minister for higher education, announced last week that the Government will take stern action against those private educational institutions which are overcharging.

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OLD EQUATIONS: Ramadoss is once again being wooed by Jayalalithaa

It is not just on policy matters that PMK and DMK have been fighting. At a recent rally in support of the UPA presidential candidate Pratibha Patil in Chennai, Ramadoss was miffed at being asked to sit in a separate platform while Karunanidhi shared the dais with Patil.

Besides needling the coalition leader, PMK took up a week-long agitation against the Andhra Pradesh Government that is building a dam across river Palar. The party took up other inter-state water disputes to woo the farmers. PMK also reached out to the Nadar community in south Tamil Nadu by agitating against the entry of Reliance Industries into retail trade, which is dominated by the Nadars in the state.

Thrilled at the war of words between the two partners, Karunanidhi’s arch foe Jayalalithaa even invited Ramadoss to join the AIADMK-led alliance. But the PMK chief is in no mood to switch over now. “Our support to the DMK Government will continue for the next four years. But the relationship should not be a one-way traffic,” Ramadoss told INDIA TODAY.

In the PMK’s election manifesto released before the Assembly polls, Ramadoss had promised to serve as a ‘shadow cabinet’ even if his coalition partner DMK won the elections. He has lived up to that promise. The once small political outfit now owns its own TV channel and a multi-edition newspaper. That’s more than enough ammunition to keep any government—run by friend or foe—on its toes.

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