Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 22 (IANS): Putting to rest speculations that the ruling CPI(M) is trying to get it on board, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) -- the second biggest ally in the Congress-led Opposition UDF -- on Thursday asserted that it is still an integral part of the alliance and will remain.

Senior party leader and legislator P.K.Kunhalikutty said all the talk of their party's political stand has no substance in it.

"We are not a political outfit that moves from one political front to another, like one changes dresses. We are an integral part of the UDF and will remain," said Kunhalikutty.

Kunhalikutty's statement comes a day after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan strongly defended his party secretary M.V.Govindan's recent statement showering praises on the IUML.

Vijayan said certain statements by the IUML had helped empower secular values. The IUML's stand against minority communalism in the past has been applauded by Govindan and (Vijayan) himself and hence nothing more needs to be seen.

Of late, the Vijayan government has been caught in a few issues and to divert the public attention, the ploy has been to extend an olive branch to the IUML, who at times feels jittery in the way the principal opposition party- the Congress party and its various factions are engaged in a free for all, say sources.

Moreover it's for the first time that the IUML is in the opposition for a second consecutive term and a section in the party feels that it's time to dump the Congress and seek greener pastures elsewhere.

So now for the time being, the UDF remains intact, but political pundits predict that IUML is just testing the waters and the important thing is the CPI-M has dropped more than enough hints, that the IUML is certainly welcome.