New Delhi, March 6 (IANS) Taken aback by the sudden withdrawal of DMK's unconditional support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government Saturday evening, the Congress reacted guardedly, saying it would only comment after studying the situation.

Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi Saturday declined to comment on the DMK decision to pull out of the government and extend issue-based outside support.

"I don't want to comment on the major break-up because it was done in the middle of (seat sharing) negotiations," he said.

Former spokesman Satyavrat Chaturvedi told IANS: "The developments (in Tamil Nadu) have been sudden. We are in the process of consultations. It is too early to comment. We will be assessing the situation in detail. We will react after that."

Asked whether the DMK's withdrawal will land the government in minority in parliament, Chaturvedi said: "We have to take stock of the situation. We do not go by media reports."

With only a month to go for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, the DMK said it was ending its seven-year alliance with the Congress and asked its ministers to quit the UPA government at the centre.

A DMK resolution in Chennai said, henceforth the support to UPA government will be "issue-based".

The stated reason for the dramatic decision was the Congress' insistence on contesting 63 of the 234 assembly seats in the state.