PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss said on Tuesday (October 20, 2026) that the Tamil Nadu government should look at building the new Secretariat complex outside Chennai as proposed by his party and abandon the plans to build it within city limits.

In a statement, he expressed shock over reports that the State government was now considering building the new Secretariat on land occupied by Pallavan Illam on Anna Salai as opposed to an earlier proposal to construct it in Pattinapakkam. “The Tamil Nadu government must clarify whether the media reports about constructing the Secretariat at Pallavan Illam are true. If there are numerous reasons and justifications for not constructing the new Secretariat in Pattinapakkam, there are a hundred times more compelling reasons for not building it at Pallavan Illam,” he said.

According to Dr. Anbumani, the traffic congestion would be impossible to resolve.

“If Chennai’s most congested traffic locations were ranked, the area around Pallavan Illam would figure among the top three. Anna Salai, one of Chennai’s principal roads, is already struggling with severe traffic congestion. If the new Secretariat is established at Pallavan Illam, controlling traffic congestion on Anna Salai would become virtually impossible,” he asserted.

According to Dr. Anbumani, the entire site at Pallavan Illam measures only 13.22 acres, while the area of the site in Pattinapakkam around 26.36 acres.

“During the DMK government led by former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, 39.54 acres were earmarked in 2007 for constructing a new Secretariat on Omandurar Government Estate. The land occupied by the buildings originally constructed to house the Secretariat and Legislative Assembly Secretariat, which now accommodate the Omandurar Multi Super Speciality Hospital and medical colleges, measure 19.48 acres,” he said.

PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Saturday demanded that Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay provide government jobs to family heirs of those persons killed in the police firing during the Vanniyar reservation agitation, just as his government had done for the family members of the Karur stampede victims.

In a statement, he said that while the compassion shown by Mr. Vijay was welcome, such relief should not be limited to one group alone, and it should be extended to everyone who had suffered in similar circumstances across different periods. Similar assistance should also be provided to the families of the 25 people — including 21 who were killed in the police firing and others who died due to various forms of repression — during the week-long road blockade agitation that began on September 17, 1987, he asserted.

Dr. Anbumani added: “The families of those who were shot dead during the reservation agitation have every right to receive government employment and other forms of assistance. The government has both the duty and responsibility to provide them.”