After Mutharika formed the DPP in 2005, over 70 Members of Parliament joined the DPP; the opposition, including the UDF, has sought to have these MPs expelled from their seats for switching parties. In May 2008, Mutharika said that Muluzi was trying to remove him from office by depriving the DPP MPs of their seats; to press its demand for the removal of the DPP MPs, the opposition had refused to debate any government bills. Mutharika called Muluzi a "coward" and accused him of treason. Speaking on Joy Radio, a station he owns, on May 12, 2008, Muluzi denied any plot against Mutharika and expressed exasperation with threats made by Mutharika.