India: DMK's A Raja says 'we're enemies of Ram' in speech, BJP fires back

A senior leader A Raja from DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), a prominent political party in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, has ignited a political furore with his comments on Lord Ram. In a speech, the leader reportedly said, “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 Mata and Jai Shri Ram….Tamil Nadu won’t accept. You go and tell, we’re enemies of Ram."

These remarks have triggered a fresh confrontation of the DMK, which is part of the INDIA alliance, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party at the Centre accused Raja of advocating the "Balkanisation of India".

The head of BJP's IT cell Amit Malviya shared a translation of A Raja's speech made in Madurai.

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"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," the statement from Raja's speech reportedly read.

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"So, India is not a 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," it added.

Raja's remarks prompted strong reactions from the Congress camp as well.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate condemned Raja's statement. She said that Ram belongs to everyone while also urging restraint in public discourse.

Remarks onSanatana Dharma

This is not an isolated incident where the DMK party has found itself in a political crossfire. Earlier, leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's comments on Sanatana Dharma triggered a controversy.

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Tamil Nadu's Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports, a prominent figure in the film industry, and the son of Chief Minister M K Stalin,Udhayanidhi Stalin,during a conference in September 2023, expressed his views on Sanatana Dharma.

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He stated that Sanatana Dharma opposes principles of social justice and equality.“Just like dengue, mosquitoes, malaria, or coronavirus need to be eradicated, we have to eradicate Sanatana,” he had said at the time.

(With inputs from agencies)