Expressing his willingness to discuss the party’s future in BN with the coalition’s leadership, he said they could “meet any time”, as MIC had been in the coalition for over 60 years.

Vigneswaran also said the expressed intention of party members for MIC to exit BN was “for the sake of the party’s future, as we see that MIC is not being given space (in the coalition)”.

“If a decision is made, it does not mean that MIC is threatening anyone. MIC has never been like that and does not mean to hurt anybody’s feelings,” Sinar Harian reported him as saying today.

His remarks come a day after MIC national strategy director C Sivaraj blamed Umno for the collapse of BN’s Indian support, saying the real cause was the decisions made by Umno during its time in government.

He said the collapse of MIC’s Indian support was the “direct consequence of decisions, policies and missteps by Umno, which controlled the government and all major institutions”.

And while MIC had remained loyal to BN, sacrificing seats and accepting junior partner status to ensure continued representation for Indians, this loyalty was “used, not rewarded”, he said.

“The lesson for MIC is clear: never again accept responsibility without real authority. Future partnerships must guarantee MIC genuine policymaking power on matters involving the Indian community,” he said.

On Wednesday, BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he would accept any decision MIC made about its future.

He also backed a call by BN deputy chairman Mohamad Hasan for BN and MIC to meet after the Sabah election on Nov 29 to clarify the party’s future in the coalition.

Zahid said this after delegates at the MIC annual general meeting on Sunday unanimously agreed to leave a final decision on exiting BN to the central working committee and president.

MIC, together with MCA and Umno, is a founding member of the pre-independence Alliance Party, which became BN in 1973.