The DMK leader A. Raja earlier stoked a row by stating that Tamil Nadu will never accept BJP’s ideology of “this is Jai Sri Ram, this is Bharat mata ki jai.”…reports Asian Lite News
Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) criticised the comments made by DMK’s MP A Raja, a member of their INDIA bloc, regarding Lord Ram.
Raja’s statement, allegedly shared by the BJP, suggested that India is not a nation but a subcontinent, and he referred to himself as an enemy of Lord Ram.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate vehemently disagreed with Raja’s remarks, condemning them as inappropriate.
She emphasised that Lord Ram transcends communities and religions, representing ideals of dignity, ethics, and love. Shrinate emphasised the need for restraint in discussions and distanced herself from Raja’s statement.”
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey condemned his remarks, alleging that he is “mentally sick” and needs to be treated well.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the DMK are allies in the INDIA bloc.
“Even Ravana didn’t believe in Lord Rama, but we saw what his conclusion was. Whether one believes in the Lord or not, he exists all across the universe and in our hearts. If someone stupid doesn’t know about Lord Rama, I pray that he gets blessed with wisdom. May Lord Rama enlighten those who question his existence,” Dubey said while speaking to ANI.
Anand Dubey further said that the INDIA bloc condemns and dismisses Raja’s remarks.
“The INDIA bloc dismisses and condemns his remarks. We are a part of the INDIA bloc, united to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). People like A Raja, who do not possess any knowledge and are mentally sick, need to be treated properly. If there are no good hospitals in Tamil Nadu, there are in Mumbai or Delhi. Get them treated,” he stated.
“I urge Stalin ji (DMK Chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin) to restrict his leaders from making such statements,” added the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader.
The DMK leader has stirred a fresh controversy after Bharatiya Janata Party IT cell head Amit Malviya posted the said speech of DMK’s A Raja made in Madurai with the translation saying, “India is not a nation. Understand this well. India is never a nation. One nation means one language, one tradition and one culture. Then only it is one nation. India is not a nation but a subcontinent. What’s the reason? Here, Tamil is one nation and one country. Malayalam is one language, one nation and one country. Oriya is a nation, a language and a country. All these nations make up India. So, India is not country it is a subcontinent. There are so many traditions and cultures. If you come to Tamil Nadu, there’s a culture. In Kerala, there’s another culture. In Delhi, there’s another culture. In Oriya, there’s another culture. Why in Manipur, as RS Bharathi said, they eat dog meat. Yes, it is true, they eat. That’s a culture. There’s nothing wrong. It’s all in our mind.”
As per Malviya, A Raja also said that he could not accept the BJP’s ideology.
“If you say it’s this God, this is ‘Jai Sri Ram’, this is ‘Bharat mata ki jai’, then we and Tamil Nadu will never accept Bharat Matha and Jai Shriram…I don’t believe in Ramayanam but as per story this is Kamba Ramayanam,” said the DMK leader.
Several BJP leaders have also questioned the remarks of the DMK leader.
In response to Raja’s remarks, BJP leader and former union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “He said that we will never accept ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’…Do Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge agree with this? Will DMK use such derogatory comments against deities of other religions? We respect all religions…”
Union Minister Anurag Thakur alleged that the DMK leader was part of the ‘tukde tukde’ gang.
“They are the people who abuse Hindi, talk about ending India, support the ‘tukde tukde’ gang and raise slogans of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ after their leader wins the Rajya Sabha elections. They are the people who want to destroy the Indian culture. They have formed the INDI alliance but their arrogance is coming out. What was the compulsion that they had to raise slogans of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ and support the ‘tukde tukde’ gang, not just once but a lot of times,” Thakur said.
Meanwhile, Tejashwi Yadav, leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which is also an ally in the INDIA bloc, said that it was his personal statement and does not reflect the view of the alliance.
“This is his personal statement. It is not ours (INDIA Alliance),” said Yadav. (with inputs from agencies)
MP: Kamal Says Congress Will Win 12-13 Seats
Veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath said on Tuesday that he believes the party will win 12 to 13 Lok Sabha seats (out of 29) in Madhya Pradesh in the upcoming general elections.
Claiming that he is making this assertion after reviewing the state’s current political situation, the former Chief Minister said that he has been talking to the party leaders across the state to take stock of the ground realities, adding that he will soon start visiting different parts of Madhya Pradesh.
“I believe that the Congress should win at least 12 to 13 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh,” Kamal Nath said during a press conference in Ujjain on Tuesday.
Responding to BJP’s claims of winning all the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress leader said that political parties make tall claims to set the momentum ahead of elections.
“All the political parties contest elections with a strategy, and make tall claims to set the momentum. But it has nothing to do with the reality. The BJP has always been making tall claims,” Kamal Nath said.
In the last two parliamentary elections in 2014 and 2019, the BJP had won 27 and 28 out of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh, respectively.
The only seat the the BJP lost in 2019 was Chhindwara, the home turf of Kamal Nath from where his son Nakul Nath had won.
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