IUML snaps six-decade-old ties with DMK, seeks larger role in TVK-led govt, alliance

CHENNAI: Ending a partnership that had endured for nearly six decades, except for a brief break, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) formally announced its exit from the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) on Saturday.

The decision was taken at the party's general committee meeting held in Royapettah, where leaders adopted 14 resolutions, including one authorising the party to sever ties with the DMK-led front.

Addressing reporters after the meeting, IUML president KM Khader Mohideen said the party could no longer continue in the DMK alliance under the prevailing political circumstances. Referring to the resolution, he said the IUML had respected the mandate delivered by the people in the Assembly elections and extended support to TVK to form the government. He added that the party would take a decision on its future electoral alliance once bypolls and local body elections are announced.

Signalling the party's desire for a larger role in the alliance with the TVK, Khader Mohideen said the IUML expected adequate representation in future elections, including local body polls, and indicated that the party was keen on participating more actively in the TVK-led government.

Praising the government's performance during its first month in office, he pointed to measures aimed at strengthening law and order, particularly the formation of the Singappen special force for women's safety.

The IUML leader also sought to dismiss opposition criticism over the "sofa model government" jibe.

Clarifying the controversy surrounding a sofa seen during Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's visit to the party office, he said it had merely been arranged for the occasion and rejected suggestions of any special favour.

The press conference briefly turned tense when a reporter referred to an earlier remark allegedly attributed to Khader Mohideen that Muslims had "five religious duties and a sixth duty of voting for the DMK".

Rejecting the interpretation, he said his comments were made in the context of democracy and the importance of exercising voting rights. He insisted that he had never described voting for the DMK as a religious obligation and accused the reporter of distorting his remarks.

The IUML-DMK alliance was first forged in 1962 and remained largely intact through successive Assembly, Parliamentary and local body elections. The only major interruption came between 1999 and 2004 when the DMK was aligned with the BJP at the national level. Barring that phase, the two parties remained political allies for nearly 60 years.