DMK president M.K. Stalin on Friday alleged that the BJP-led Central government had denied representation to Tamil Nadu in the Union Cabinet because it was angry with the people of the State for voting against it and its allies in the Lok Sabha polls.

In a statement, he said the BJP government filing a petition in the Supreme Court for the implementation of the Salem-Chennai Expressway immediately after assuming office was an “unpardonable betrayal”.

Recalling Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s assertion that his government will not move the Supreme Court against the Madras High Court’s order staying the implementation of the project, Mr. Stalin said the Chief Minister, however, remained silent when Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced his intention to go ahead with the project.

“The voters of Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Tiruvannamalai and Kancheepuram, who will be affected by the project, handed defeat to the BJP-AIADMK combine. Still, they [the parties] refuse to learn any lesson,” he said.

The DMK leader sought to know whether PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss would quit the alliance or remain indifferent to the issue for the sake of getting a berth in the Union Ministry.