– Mohammed Atherulla Shariff
6 March 2024
Criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that there won’t be DMK after elections, the DMK MP A. Raja said, India won’t exist without DMK and asked the BJP not to play such games.
While addressing a public meeting to commemorate Chief Minister MK Stalin’s 72nd birthday, A. Raja, who is known for his fiery speeches, claimed that India has never been “one nation” but is a “subcontinent” which is home to diverse practices and culture, while making disparaging comments on Lord Ram, saying that Tamil Nadu will “not accept him.”
Accusing the BJP of trying to change the Constitution, he said India was never “one nation” which means one language, one tradition, and one culture. “India is a sub-continent, not a country. Because Tamil Nadu has a different language and it is one country. Kerala is one country, and Odisha is one country. Every place has its own culture. You go to Manipur and you will see people eating dog meat. It is their culture,” Raja said, demanding that every culture in India should be acknowledged and recognised.
In speeches made in Tirunelveli and other places in the last couple of days, Raja reiterated his stance that India is not a country but a sub-continent.
After Udhayanidhi Stalin and Dayanidhi Maran, who made controversial comments against Sanatana Dharma and north Indians, the comments from Raja have come at a critical juncture as political parties gear up for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
In a meeting held on September 2, 2023, Udhayanidhi Stalin, the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, had stated that Sanatan Dharma is against social justice and equality and should be ‘eradicated’.
Earlier DK Suresh, MP from Bangalore Rural constituency in Karnataka on February 1 had alleged that Southern states are not getting their rightful share of GST and direct taxes from Centre and the injustice may force them to demand a separate nation. DK Suresh’s statements was a comment on the Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
