S. Ramadoss

S Ramadoss is infamous for his usage of unparliamentary language in press meets and public meetings. S Ramadoss on June 2019 stoked a controversy, saying that he would kill journalists who question him about hundreds of trees cut down by his party workers during his arrest by the J Jayalalithaa government. He said, "if we protest again we will not cut trees but hack down those who ask these questions, and throw their mangled bodies across the road."[5] He also called the journalists "dogs" and "Kammanati pasanga", a degrogatory phrase used for 'son of widow'.[6][7]

Ramadoss is notorious for his anti-Dalit rhetoric. On December 2012, Ramadoss initiated a controversial campaign to prevent Dalit men from marrying non-Dalit women especially those women who belong to his own Vanniyar community.[8] In Tamil Nadu, it has caused a stir and many political parties wanted legal action against Ramadoss. Ramadoss in an event in 2010, said, "Dalit men sporting jeans, t-shirts and fancy glasses lure our women into marriages that don't work." M. Karunanidhi, asked the government of the state to "act against those stirring up a caste passion" and said, It's dangerous like stepping into fire. He started this campaign and provoked 2012 Dharmapuri violence, where hundreds of Dalit houses were charred by arson set by a group of vandals.[9][10][11] Ramadoss also strongly campaigned for raising women's legal age of marriage to 21 as he believes upper caste women in their late teenage are the easy target for Dalit men.[12] Ramadoss convened a meeting with leaders representing intermediate castes to crusade against SC/ST Act,a law which criminalizes caste discrimination, alleging that Dalits misuse the law and register false cases to settle personal scores.[13]