CHENNAI: DMK Spokesperson TKS Elangovan, labelling a major allegation on the central government, said that people from North Indian states are being given preference while being recruited in Public Sector Units (PSU). Getting more specific, Elangovan further added that there are PSU's in Uttar Pradesh as well but they are not recruiting Tamilians.

Elangovan's statement came while he was responding to the controversy triggered by a clip of DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran going viral in which he is saying that Hindi speakers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who come to Tamil Nadu end up doing construction work or cleaning roads and toilets. The clip was also shared by BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla.

"Now the government is selecting people from the northern states to work in Union PSUs. Even PSUs are there in UP but they are not recruiting Tamils. "Our people are not against anybody coming here. They are doing menial work but the Government of India is putting them on higher posts, depriving Tamilians of their rights," Elangovan said.

Elangovan, however, claimed that people from Bihar and UP feel safer in Tamil Nadu. "In fact, people from Bihar and UP feel that they are comfortable here in Tamil Nadu. Unlike in UP and anywhere else, they feel that they are comfortable here, which shows how the state government is working," he said.

Earlier this month, after the declaration of assembly poll results, DMK leader DNV Senthilkumar S, had sparked a controversy by calling the Hindi heartland as 'Gaumutra (cow urine) states'. The DMK MP later issued an apology after a massive outrage by the ruling BJP.