CHENNAI: DMK leader and Central Chennai MP Dayanidhi Maran on Sunday called those remaining silent on Tamil Nadu's Cauvery rights and the Mekedatu issue the real betrayers, in an apparent retort to Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who had called anyone supporting the BJP's proposed delimitation bill "Ettappans" (traitors).

Dayanidhi Maran didn't name anyone in his statement, but it contained enough keywords to link it to the recent State visit of Rahul and his 'Ettappans' remark, made yesterday during an interaction with the media in Chennai, as the DMK parliamentarian also dragged NEET into it. Rahul's press meet was held after an interaction with medical aspirants in Mahabalipuram. Those who spoke only about alleged irregularities in NEET without demanding the examination’s abolition were a great betrayal for Tamil Nadu, which always stood for its scrapping, Dayanidhi added.

Visiting but not speaking up for the State’s rights over the Cauvery river, or opposing the Mekedatu project, is a real betrayal of the people, he said.

Dayanidhi alleged that those who condemned the BJP’s alleged horse-trading but ignored similar practices by the TVK were displaying double standards. He further accused the TVK government of suppressing dissent by arresting individuals for social media posts critical of the administration and alleged that the State Police had used excessive force against students protesting against NEET.

“After hearing political lessons delivered during a recent visit to Tamil Nadu, all these betrayals came to my mind. How many betrayals can there be?” Maran remarked.