Chennai: Tamilaga Valvurimai Katchi (TVK) leader T Velmurugan accused DMK of pushing his party out of the alliance by refusing to move beyond an offer of just one seat. “They are driving me out of alliance. The issue will be discussed with party functionaries at a high-level meeting on Saturday night, with a final decision to be announced on Sunday,” he told TOI earlier in the day. TVK had first asked for six seats and later lowered its demand to two. The party is likely to quit the DMK-led alliance. Sources said the high-level meeting took note of the ‘insults’ meted out at the hands of the DMK as the first round of talks between parties took place 20 days ago. Velmurugan, a prominent vanniyar leader, said chief minister M K Stalin should at least accept three of TVK’s 10 demands, including a caste census, 10.5% internal reservation for vanniyars, and an assembly resolution calling for an International Court of Justice inquiry into alleged war crimes in the civil war in Sri Lanka, along with a referendum on Eelam. “MDMK chief Vaiko, VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan and CPI leader R Mutharasan spoke to me. Leaders of various outfits urged me to remain in the DMK-led front. I placed multiple options before DMK, but they are unwilling to consider our demands,” Velmurugan said. The three-time MLA said DMK failed to acknowledge TVK despite its loyalty over several elections. He said his request for a Rajya Sabha seat was ignored even as newer allies such as DMDK and MNM were accommodated. “We have scaled down our demand from six assembly seats to four and then three, but DMK offered us only one seat. Their tone indicated that DMK had already decided to edge TVK out,” Velmurugan said. He said tensions grew because of his opposition to measures such as private university bills and his speeches during assembly debates. He recalled clashes with assembly speaker M Appavu and senior ministers and said even chief minister Stalin rebuked him in the House. “These developments suggest that DMK no longer wants me in the alliance,” Velmurugan said.
