NEW DELHI – A key regional party from south India said Saturday it had withdrawn from the ruling national coalition, dealing a new blow to the embattled government but still leaving it with a sturdy majority. The Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) said it had been unable to come to an agreement with the Congress party for elections in the state of Tamil Nadu, leading it to withdraw from the embattled federal coalition and offer issue-based support.
The move is the latest challenge to confront the Congress-led government which is reeling from a slew of corruption scandals that have created huge headaches for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his second term of office.
Congress, the biggest party in parliament, heads a coalition that commands a majority of 310 including outside support from other parties in the 545-seat decision-making lower house. The DMK said that Congress’ failure to reach agreement on seat-sharing with the party for upcoming state polls in Tamil Nadu was an effort to push them out of the United Progressive Alliance.
We had decided to relieve ourselves from the government, said DMK president M Karunanidhi, adding that the DMK’s six ministers in the national cabinet would resign.
