Pattali Makkal Katchi
Pattali Makkal Katchi (transl. Working People's Party; abbreviated as PMK) is a political party in Tamil Nadu, India, founded by S. Ramadoss in 1989 for the Vanniyar caste in northern Tamil Nadu.[2][3] It is a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).[4] It contests the elections with the "Ripe Mango" symbol.[5]
Pattali Makkal Katchi
The PMK is noted for its involvement in riots and vandalism. A former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha, likened the party to a terrorist organisation and threatened to ban it for its frequent involvement in violence and vandalism of public property. [6]
History[edit]
Vanniyar Sangam[edit]
S. Ramadoss founded the Vanniyar Sangam in the late 1970s, bringing together a coalition of Vanniyar caste organisations. The Vanniyar Sangam is PMK's parent organisation.[7][8] The Vanniyar Sangham organised the 1987 Vanniyar reservation agitation demanding Most Backward Caste (MBC) status for Vanniyars. At the peak of the protests, the state was paralysed for a week when thousands of trees were felled, highways blocked and damaged and more than 1,400 houses of the Dalit community were burned down.[9] The police shot 21 protestors.[7] Later, in 1989, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government led by M. Karunanidhi granted MBC status to the Vanniyars, with the associated reservation entitlements in education and employment.[10]
PMK (1989–present)[edit]
Ramadoss founded the PMK on 16 July 1989,[11] emerging from the Vanniyar reservation protests of 1987.[12]
Ahead of the 2004 elections, PMK joined the Democratic Progressive Alliance, a broad Tamil political coalition which also included the DMK, Indian National Congress (INC), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Indian Union Muslim League. The party was able to obtain a significant share of power both in the regional government in Tamil Nadu and the Central Government due to the number of seats it obtained which helped the United Progressive Alliance (UPA-I ) to form the Government.
Following the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the PMK joined the United Progressive Alliance led by the INC. In June 2008, during the final months of the bitter relationship between the DMK and the PMK, the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu severed its ties with the PMK, who were outside supporters of the Karunanidhi Government.[13] However, the DMK did not press for the party's removal from the UPA Government at the centre. On 26 March 2009, PMK declared that, it would join the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) led front and left the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
Ramadoss and his son, Anbumani Ramdoss, were arrested by the Jayalalitha government for their inflammatory speeches, the PMK cadres indulged in violence in April 2013 causing property damages estimated worth ₹600 crores.[14] Jayalalitha likened the party to a “terrorist” organization and claimed they hurled petrol bombs on moving vehicles and caused damages to 850 vehicles including public buses and threatened to ban the party.[15] Ramadoss and his son were released after 12 days in prison.[16]
PMK contested in the 2014 Lok Sabha election in an alliance with BJP-led NDA and its candidate Anbumani Ramadoss won the Dharmapuri Lok Sabha constituency, he was one of two non-AIADMK MPs from Tamil Nadu the other being from its ally BJP.[17]
PMK continued its alliance with AIADMK and BJP in the 2019 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu and contested 7 seats but the party failed to win any seats. [18]
The Madras Institute of Developmental Studies (MIDS) and an reported that the PMK and the Hindu Munnani was involved in the 2019 Ponparappi violence where Dalit women were sexually abused and Dalit houses were attacked and damaged.[19] An NGO Evidence also blamed PMK in the violence because the Dalit colony voted overwhelmingly for VCK.[20]
In November 2020, Ramadoss called for a protest demanding 20% internal reservation for Vanniyars in the MBC category in education and jobs from December 1. During the pro-reservation protests, more than 500 PMK cadres pelted stones on a moving train and blocked traffic when they were blocked from entering Chennai.[21][22] A bill to create the 10.5% internal reservation to Vanniyars was passed on February 26, 2021, by the AIADMK government.[23] The move was taken ahead of the April 6 assembly elections to appease the PMK, which had threatened to quit the coalition if their demand was not satisfied.[24] In July 2021, the DMK government issued an order to implement 10.5% quota Bill for Vanniyars.[24]
PMK contested in 23 seats in the AIADMK alliance in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election and won five seats by securing 4.04%.[18] In the assembly, PMK voted in favour of anti-CAA and anti-farm-law resolutions, but AIADMK and BJP walked out over the matter.[25] PMK left the AIADMK-led alliance for the 2021 local body polls.[26]
Ideology and political positions[edit]
The PMK defied Tamil Nadu's Dravidian political culture by explicitly appealing to its caste identification when asking for support. The party has been linked to direct action and protests that have resulted in violence. Between 2012 and 2013, the party ran a campaign against intercaste marriages.[12]