KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan has denied that his party has joined Perikatan Nasional (PN), directly refuting a claim made earlier by the coalition’s secretary-general, Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan.

Saravanan insisted that MIC’s central working committee (CWC) has not made any decision on the matter, Free Malaysia Today reported.

“No decision has been made by MIC to join PN. I’ve been very clear from day one: we will let the CWC decide, and the CWC has yet to decide anything,” he said.

The Tapah MP clarified that MIC had not submitted a formal application to join the coalition, and had only made an “enquiry” about the process following an invitation from then-PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Saravanan’s firm denial came after Takiyuddin announced that PN’s Supreme Council had already approved MIC’s entry into the coalition.

Takiyuddin also claimed he would be meeting MIC president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran tonight to hand over an official letter confirming the party’s admission.

However, Saravanan said he was unaware of any such meeting.

“The president would have told me,” he said.

The conflicting statements are the latest development in long-running speculation about MIC’s future within Barisan Nasional (BN).

During the party’s general assembly last November, delegates gave the leadership a mandate to explore leaving the coalition amid dissatisfaction over MIC’s role and relevance.

Despite this, top BN leaders have consistently dismissed the speculation, and MIC leaders recently attended a BN leadership retreat, signalling that the party remained within the fold.