Chennai: Manithaneya Makkal Katchi leader and MLA M H Jawahirullah has sharply criticised the newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay for excluding Muslims from the cabinet despite the ruling alliance having multiple Muslim MLAs, Maktoob Media reported.
After the government secured the trust vote with the support of 144 legislators, Jawahirullah described the absence of Muslim ministers as politically unacceptable and compared it to BJP-led governments that have often faced criticism over the lack of Muslim representation.
Jawahirullah pointed out that TVK itself has three Muslim MLAs — I Thahira, Mohamed Farvas J and Madhar Badhurudeen — yet none were inducted into the first cabinet. He also highlighted that alliance partners, including Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League, have Muslim legislators in the Assembly, but the ministry still remains without a single Muslim face. According to him, this contradicts the government’s repeated claims about minority welfare and inclusive politics.
The MMK leader argued that Muslim representation in Tamil Nadu cabinets has historically been part of the state’s political tradition under leaders including K Kamaraj, M Karunanidhi, M G Ramachandran and M K Stalin. He recalled that even when an earlier Kamaraj cabinet initially had no Muslim minister, political pressure later resulted in the inclusion of S M Abdul Majid. Jawahirullah said most Tamil Nadu governments since then had maintained Muslim representation except during a brief phase under J Jayalalithaa.
He further noted that Muslim MLAs elected on TVK tickets secured major victories against heavyweight opponents, including I Thahira defeating former minister R Gandhi and Madhar Badhurudeen defeating former Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan. Despite these victories, he said, the exclusion of Muslims from the ministry sends a damaging political message at a time when Muslim representation in legislatures across India has been steadily declining.