A minister in the MK Stalin Cabinet has sparked a storm with his derogatory remarks against north Indians. DMK Agriculture Minister MRK Panneer Selvam
was attending a party meeting in Chengalpattu when he said, "People from the North are coming here to clean tables, engage in construction works, sell pani puri. Because he learnt only Hindi and had no job opportunity there, he has come here." The BJP has slammed Selvam and said that this reflected a repetitive pattern within the DMK of mocking north Indians. "At a party event in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, DMK agriculture minister Shri MRK Panneer mocked North Indian migrants as 'table cleaners and pani puri sellers.' In today's India, people from every state work everywhere - North, South, and across the world. No job is small. No citizen is inferior," the party said in a post on X.
"This isn't an isolated slip; it's a pattern. DMK leaders have repeatedly derided migrant workers, especially for being North Indian or for speaking Hindi. At a time when violence against innocent migrant workers in Tamil Nadu is rising, such statements are reckless and dangerous, branding an entire community as 'low standard' and fuelling hate on the streets," the post said.
BJP Targets Opposition
The party issued a scathing criticism of the Opposition INDIA alliance over its silence over the matter. "Now a direct question to the INDI alliance: if you claim to stand for unity, human dignity, and social justice, why this deafening silence? Is alliance compulsion more important than national unity? Do Shri Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav endorse this hatred by staying quiet? Is this your idea of justice which is dividing Indians for votes? Complete shame!" the party said.
There has been no response so far from the DMK or the INDIA bloc.
