Climaxing months of bitter relationship, the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday severed its ties with the PMK, an outside supporter of the Karunanidhi government, but said it would not press for the party's removal from the UPA government at the Centre.
A meeting of the DMK's high-level action-plan committee chaired by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi adopted a resolution snapping ties with the PMK stating that the relations cannot be continued in view of the "insult" heaped on it by the PMK leadership day in and day out.
"It is not alliance dharma that the relationship should be continued with those hurling insults. It is not possible to continue the relationship with them," the resolution said. However, DMK president Karunanidhi, who announced the party's decision, told reporters that he would not ask the leadership of the UPA, in which the DMK is a major partner, to expel PMK from the ruling alliance at the Centre.
PMK, which has 17 members in the state assembly and five members in the Lok Sabha, extends outside support to the minority DMK government.
It also has two nominees in the central government -- Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and Minister of State for Railways R Velu.
Though a minority single-party government headed by DMK, it does not face any imminent danger in the 234-member assembly because of the support given by the 35-member Congress.
The DMK itself has 90 members. Asked whether he would convey the party's decision to the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, he said, "There is no need for it as it concerns only the DMK and the PMK."
Asked whether he would demand dismissal of Anbumani, son of Ramadoss, from the Manmohan Singh Cabinet, Karunanidhi said, "I have lot of love and affection for him. There is no quarrel between the DMK and Dr Anbumani."
