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NEW DELHI: The controversy triggered by attempts to draw a “north-south” divide in the wake of Congress‘s defeat in three state polls intensified on Tuesday after its partner DMK‘s MP DNV Senthilkumar made a disparaging reference to the swathe on the northern side of the Vindhyas, triggering an aggressive response from BJP.
Speaking in Lok Sabha during the debate on a bill related to J&K, Senthilkumar used a controversial description for north India to argue that BJP’s appeal was limited to the region where the cow is revered and it could not win elections in the south.BJP leaders hit back at DMK and asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi if he agreed with the insulting remarks of its INDIA bloc partner against north Indians.
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai condemned the “insensitive” remarks and said the level of the party’s discourse was “sinking” like Chennai (a reference to the city inundated by heavy rain) and DMK’s “arrogance” would ensure its downfall. “After calling our north Indian friends ‘pani puri’ sellers, toilet constructors etc, INDIA Alliance DMK MP makes gaumutra jibes,” he said on X.
Faced with the backlash, Senthilkumar withdrew his statement but justified his choice of words while talking to reporters outside Parliament. “I made some statements inside the House. I have used this before in my Parliament speeches. It was not a controversial statement. If it touches somebody, I will try to avoid using it next time,” he said.
Later in the day, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin pulled up Senthilkumar and told him to issue an apology. Subsequently, the MP took to X and said, “Commenting on the results of the five recent state assembly elections, I have used a word in a inappropriate way. Not using that term with any intent, I apologise for sending the wrong meaning across.”
Facing BJP’s attack, Congress leader in LS Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury distanced his party from Senthilkumar’s remarks: “We all respect ‘gau mata’ as the mother. What has been said is an individual statement and we have nothing to do with what he has said. It is his personal view and we don’t have anything to say on this.” The distancing came amid indications that the attack on Sanatan Dharma by Stalin’s son Udayanidhi and other DMK leaders may have hurt Congress’s effort in northern states.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram demanded an apology from the DMK MP. Interestingly, Karti’s tweet hailing “The South” over Congress’s victory in Telangana on Sunday was seen as among the early sparks for the ‘north versus south’ binary that suddenly came into play after BJP’s wins in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
Watch DMK’s Senthilkumar apologizes for his ‘Gaumutra States’ remark at Lok Sabha
Speaking in Lok Sabha during the debate on a bill related to J&K, Senthilkumar used a controversial description for north India to argue that BJP’s appeal was limited to the region where the cow is revered and it could not win elections in the south.BJP leaders hit back at DMK and asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi if he agreed with the insulting remarks of its INDIA bloc partner against north Indians.
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai condemned the “insensitive” remarks and said the level of the party’s discourse was “sinking” like Chennai (a reference to the city inundated by heavy rain) and DMK’s “arrogance” would ensure its downfall. “After calling our north Indian friends ‘pani puri’ sellers, toilet constructors etc, INDIA Alliance DMK MP makes gaumutra jibes,” he said on X.
Faced with the backlash, Senthilkumar withdrew his statement but justified his choice of words while talking to reporters outside Parliament. “I made some statements inside the House. I have used this before in my Parliament speeches. It was not a controversial statement. If it touches somebody, I will try to avoid using it next time,” he said.
Later in the day, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin pulled up Senthilkumar and told him to issue an apology. Subsequently, the MP took to X and said, “Commenting on the results of the five recent state assembly elections, I have used a word in a inappropriate way. Not using that term with any intent, I apologise for sending the wrong meaning across.”
Facing BJP’s attack, Congress leader in LS Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury distanced his party from Senthilkumar’s remarks: “We all respect ‘gau mata’ as the mother. What has been said is an individual statement and we have nothing to do with what he has said. It is his personal view and we don’t have anything to say on this.” The distancing came amid indications that the attack on Sanatan Dharma by Stalin’s son Udayanidhi and other DMK leaders may have hurt Congress’s effort in northern states.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram demanded an apology from the DMK MP. Interestingly, Karti’s tweet hailing “The South” over Congress’s victory in Telangana on Sunday was seen as among the early sparks for the ‘north versus south’ binary that suddenly came into play after BJP’s wins in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
Watch DMK’s Senthilkumar apologizes for his ‘Gaumutra States’ remark at Lok Sabha
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