Chennai: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on Friday strongly criticised DMK MP A. Raja over his controversial “bent coconut tree” remark aimed at the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) after the two parties joined Chief Minister Vijay’s cabinet in Tamil Nadu.

In a sharply worded statement, the TVK accused Raja of crossing the limits of “moral-political decency” and undermining democratic principles through what it described as an insulting and arrogant comment directed at alliance partners.

The controversy began after Raja posted a cryptic message on social media platform X using the Tamil literary expression  muttatthengu  — a reference to a coconut tree planted in one’s courtyard that bends towards a neighbouring house to offer its fruit and water.

“If the coconut tree in my home garden bends over and offers tender coconut water to the opposite house, literature calls it ‘muttatthengu’. What should it be called in politics? Long live Tamil!” Raja wrote.

The TVK interpreted the remark as a veiled attack on the VCK and IUML, both of which have traditionally aligned with the DMK but recently joined the newly formed TVK-led coalition government headed by Chief Minister Vijay.

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Responding to the post, the TVK said Raja’s comments reflected the “height of incivility” and trivialised the concept of power-sharing advocated by smaller social justice-based parties.

The party further alleged that the DMK treats alliance partners as subordinate entities rather than equal democratic stakeholders and accused the ruling party of reacting out of fear over losing its long-standing political dominance.

According to the TVK, the criticism directed at the VCK and IUML exposed the DMK’s “arrogance of power” and discomfort with an inclusive political model centred on shared governance.

The remarks come amid ongoing political realignments in Tamil Nadu following the induction of VCK and IUML MLAs into the Vijay-led state cabinet.

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