Chennai/Patna, Dec 24: A video clip of an alleged derogatory remark made months ago by DMK Lok Sabha MP Dayanidhi Maran on workers hailing from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar was widely circulated on social media on Sunday, which led to a war of words between the BJP and Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravidian party.
The alleged remark that people from the Hindi heartland were constructing houses, cleaning roads and toilets in Tamil Nadu was condemned by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, whose party, the RJD, is a constituent of the INDIA bloc like the DMK.
In the video clip, Maran purportedly said that people in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who had learnt ‘only Hindi,’ construct houses, clean roads and toilets in Tamil Nadu, after learning Tamil. “This is the scenario if Hindi is learnt.”
The video clip showing Maran’s alleged remark resurfaced on social media and the BJP said that the DMK MP’s comment is very objectionable and has derogatory references to Hindi-speaking people. The reason for the matter cropping up now is not clear and it could not be ascertained immediately.
The RJD leader condemning Maran’s comment assumes significance in the wake of the BJP questioning the ‘silence’ of parties that constitute the opposition alliance.
The DMK has slammed the BJP for spreading ‘falsehood,’ asserting that Maran only stressed on learning the English language.
“Had the DMK MP highlighted caste iniquities, had he pointed out that only people from some social groups took up such hazardous jobs, it would have made sense”, said the RJD leader.
“But to speak disparagingly of the entire populace of Bihar and UP is reprehensible. We condemn it. We believe that people should be respectful towards those coming from other parts of the country”, asserted Yadav.
“We look upon DMK as a party which shares our ideal of social justice. Its leaders should avoid saying things that run counter to the ideal”, said Yadav, who is known to share personal equations with Stalin.
A row has been triggered over Maran’s recent speech, in Tamil, in which the former Union minister had stressed on the importance of English education.
Maran had claimed that those who acquired proficiency in English got respectable jobs in the IT sector unlike residents of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, who knew only Hindi and ended up migrating to richer states like Tamil Nadu for “cleaning toilets and roads and working as construction labour”.
The ruling Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, of which RJD is the largest constituent, and the DMK-helmed Secular Progressive Alliance, are now part of the INDIA coalition. (PTI)
