New Delhi: Sparking another row over the North vs South debate, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Dayanidhi Maran said that Hindi-speaking people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh come to Tamil Nadu to clean washrooms and roads. Sharing the video of the DMK leader on X, BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said, “Once again an attempt to play the Divide and rule card. First Rahul Gandhi insulted North Indian voters. Then Revanth Reddy abused Bihar’s DNA. Then DMK MP Senthil Kumar said “Gaumutra states”. Now Dayanidhi Maran insults Hindi speakers and North.”
In the video, Maran can be heard saying, “Whoever speaks Hindi in UP and Bihar, learns Tamil here and does construction work, clean roads and toilets.” On the other hand, people who learn English get IT jobs in the south, the DMK leader said.
Once again an attempt to play the Divide & Rule card
First Rahul Gandhi insulted North Indian voters
Then Revanth Reddy abused Bihar DNA
Then DMK MP Senthil Kumar said “Gaumutra states”
Now Dayanidhi Maran insults Hindi speakers and North
Abusing Hindus / Sanatan, then… https://t.co/tYWnIAsnvK pic.twitter.com/8Krb1KmPEP
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) December 23, 2023
The North vs South debate has been on the rounds for a long, growing stronger with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comment on Sanatan Dharma where he compared it with “dengue”.
After the Bharatiya Janata Party won landslide victories in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, another DMK leader, DN Senthilkumar said that the saffron party can only become victorious in “gau mutra states.”
Referring to the recent comments made by Maran, Poonawala asked if leaders like Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Akhilesh Yadav would ever take a stand over such comments.
Meanwhile, DMK leaders are not the only ones who have stoked the North vs South debate. In 2022, for instance, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said that Punjabis should unite and not let “bhaiye from Bihar and UP” rule the state.
Similarly, in 2021, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said that he used a “different type of poll strategy” before the Kerala Assembly elections than what he employed in Amethi.