Chennai: The DMK on Monday suffered a major setback when popular Tamil actor and Rajya Sabha MP R Sarathkumar resigned from the primary membership of the party in protest against his 'continued sidelining by the party'.
The resignation of the actor came as a rude shock to the party at a time when both the Dravidian parties -- DMK and AIADMK -- were roping in film stars to campaign for the May 8 elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
The resignation also ended his prolonged suspense about his active role in the party after a controversy arose over the Macho Hero's participation in a conference organised by his Fans clubs at Tuticorin last month.
In a six-page handwritten letter to DMK President M Karunanidhi, the actor said he had taken the decision with a heavy heart and blamed the coterie surrounding the DMK Chief for his continued sidelining by the Party.
Describing Karunanidhi as a 'prisoner of circumstances', Sarathkumar said the DMK Chief could not take any action when he directly complained to him about the humiliation meted out to him and his wife Radhika by his (Karunanidhi's) family members.
He said just because he made the complaint, he was treated as an enemy by Karunanidhi's family members and his loyalty to the party had become a mockery.
"Under the circumstances, the only option left to me was to relieve myself from the party," he said, without revealing his next course of action.
The actor had been facing mounting pressure from his fan club members to quit the party which had allegedly neglected the dominant Nadar community, from which he hailed.
The fans also requested him not to campaign for the DMK in the coming polls as he was not given due respect in the party.
Sarathkumar had joined the DMK in 1998 and unsuccessfully contested from Tirunelveli constituency in the 1998 Lok Sabha polls.
In 2001, the DMK nominated him to the Rajya Sabha and his term would come to an end in 2007.
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