TN BJP chief Nainar says DMK prez now taking a lecture on unity after past vow to block workers from north
Responding to Stalin's social media post criticising PM Modi for what he called fanning Tamil–Bihari violence, Nainar Nagenthran said it was ironic that the Chief Minister, who had earlier vowed to prevent migrant labourers from northern states from entering Tamil Nadu during his election campaign, was now speaking about unity.
BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran
CHENNAI: Taking potshots at Chief Minister MK Stalin, BJP state unit president Nainar Nagenthran on Friday accused him and the ruling DMK of indulging in "double standards and hypocritical politics" over the issue of national unity and remarks about people from Bihar and northern India.
Responding to Stalin's social media post criticising PM Modi for what he called fanning Tamil–Bihari violence, Nainar Nagenthran said it was ironic that the Chief Minister, who had earlier vowed to prevent migrant labourers from northern states from entering Tamil Nadu during his election campaign, was now speaking about unity.
"Stalin, why this duplicity and political hypocrisy? You, who are now championing unity, once declared that the DMK would not allow north Indians to venture into Tamil Nadu for livelihood. Where was your sense of national unity then?" he asked in a statement.
The BJP leader pointed out that several DMK leaders, including MPs and ministers, had made disparaging comments about people from northern states. "Your party MP Dayanidhi Maran insulted Biharis by saying they clean toilets in Tamil Nadu. Former minister K Ponmudy mocked them as pani puri sellers, while senior minister KN Nehru compared north Indian women to pigs. Did you not see the 'unity in diversity' then?" he asked.
Prime Minister and BJP leader Narendra Modi's comments during the Bihar poll campaign merely highlighted these repeated instances of DMK leaders ridiculing Biharis in public, Nainar said. "Instead of introspecting, you now pretend to be a saint and speak of national harmony," he said.
Meanwhile, Senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan on Friday clarified that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent comments during the Bihar election campaign were directed at DMK leaders, not at the Tamil people. She said that the remarks were misinterpreted by the ruling party, as if they were an attack on Tamils and Tamil Nadu. "It was not about Tamils, but about the DMK men. The Prime Minister never spoke ill of the Tamil people. He only referred to the DMK functionaries who had spoken disparagingly about the people of Bihar," she told reporters here.