Tamil Nadu Minister Raj Mohan on Wednesday termed VCK chief Thol Thirumavalan's statements on continuing his alliance with DMK while being a part of the TVK-led government as the "beauty of democracy."
Raj Mohan was reacting to Thirumavalavan's statement on Tuesday that the VCK continues to consider itself part of the DMK alliance despite its recent induction into the TVK cabinet.
The Minister insisted that the ruling party does not exert authoritarian pressure on its allies.
"TVK views alliance leaders as friends and comrades, not as servants of a family where individuals are restricted from speaking out. I view Thirumavalavan's speech openly as a reflection of democracy," the minister told reporters here.
Thirumavalavan's comment that "merely taking part in the Cabinet does not mean that the VCK had joined the alliance (led by TVK)" had created a furore in Tamil Nadu politics, with some leaders who have started supporting TVK criticising his stance.
Earlier in the day, MDMK chief Vaiko had told reporters that Thirumavalavan deserves a "Nobel Prize" for his comment.
Explaining where his party stands, Thirumavalavan said: "Since the VCK's letter of support was needed to form the government, we extended support from the outside. Only after 10 days, we decided to take part in the Cabinet. When journalists asked me if we were still a part of the DMK alliance, I said we still consider ourselves as part of the DMK alliance."
He also pointed out that despite an alliance party meeting convened by the TVK, chaired by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, on July 1, no final decision was taken in that meeting.
"So, what does it mean? It means an alliance has not yet been formed under TVK's leadership," Thirumalavan had said.
(With inputs from PTI)
