Stalin attacks PMK founder, dismisses Adani link claims

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Monday hit out at S Ramadoss, founder of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), an ally in the NDA, over the latter’s allegation that the DMK chief and industrialist Gautam Adani held a secret meeting in Chennai at the CM’s residence.

Without taking any names, Stalin claimed Ramadoss keeps issuing such statements “as he does not have any other job”.

“He (Ramadoss) does not have any other job. He will keep issuing some statement or the other every other day. There is no necessity for us to answer that,” Stalin told reporters when asked about allegations levelled by the PMK leader.

The DMK has already dismissed Ramadoss’s allegations, stating there was no commercial link between the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) and the Adani Group firms. Stalin also reiterated this stand on Monday.

State’s electricity minister Senthil Balaji had earlier clarified that Tamil Nadu’s power department has not entered into any direct agreements with the Adani group since the DMK came to power in 2021 and that they signed a deal in September 2021 with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

Last Thursday, Balaji said that the TNEB signed an agreement with SECI to purchase solar power at ₹2.61 per unit for a period of 25 years. “The TNEB doesn’t have any commercial relationship with the Adani Group. Let me clarify that,” the minister had said.

He further said: “Baseless allegations are being made on social media. We purchased solar power at a very cheap price. Our signed agreement was only with SECI which purchased solar power from private companies (like Adani Group) and sold it to us. We have no direct connection with the Adani group. We all know how the AIADMK government paid a high price per unit to buy power.”

Meanwhile, DMK spokespersons posted videos on X of Adani meeting with late AIADMK supremo and former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

In the light of the indictment, Ramadoss had released a statement last week questioning, “What was the reason behind this secret meeting? The state government must order an inquiry and clarify the purpose of the meeting.”

Following the chief minister’s remark on Monday, later in the day, PMK ‘s chief and former Union minister Anbumani Ramadoss asked Stalin to apologise for ridiculing his father, senior Ramadoss. “He is a senior leader who was the reason behind the caste-based reservations, at least five times, across India,” Anbumani said.

“He is the only senior politician in India who commands respect for his stature. Ramadoss never wanted to be in power and worked only for the welfare of the people. If he had not supported the DMK’s minority government in 2006, it would not have completed its full term. If he had not asked us to withdraw the case in the Madras high court, MK Stalin couldn’t have managed to get space by the Marina to bury his father Kalaingnar (M Karunanidhi),” he added.