On a day when Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin is in Bihar to partake in Rahul Gandhi's 'Voter Adhikar' Yatra, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is raking up the controversy over the "anti-Bihar" and "anti-Sanatana" remarks made by DMK leaders in the past.
The BJP has also dared Stalin, who heads the DMK, to repeat the comments on Biharis by his colleague Dayanidhi Maran and by his son Udhayanidhi on the Sanatana Dharma, if he has the "guts", when he reaches the election-bound state this afternoon.
"I challenge Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, who is going to Bihar: If you have the courage, can you speak there about your son Udhayanidhi's statement that 'Sanatana Dharma must be destroyed'? Furthermore, can you boldly repeat the statement made by your relative and DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran that "Biharis clean toilets in Tamil Nadu"?" BJP's state spokesperson in Tamil Nadu, Narayanan Tirupathi, said in an online post.
The DMK has been critical of the special intensive revision (SIR) in Bihar, terming it an unfair exercise by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Pointing to the deletion of 65 lakh voters from the electoral roll, the DMK alleged that “lakhs of people with an anti-BJP mindset were removed from the rolls in Bihar.” In a statement last month, Stalin had criticised the SIR, saying it was “tilting the balance in favour of the BJP.”
A resolution was also adopted at the recently held DMK district secretaries’ meeting condemning the ECI for its “partiality”. In the light of Bihar’s SIR, DMK is strengthening the fieldwork of its booth-level workers, anticipating a similar exercise in Tamil Nadu.
K Annamalai, former state BJP chief and one of the most prominent party leaders in the southern state, echoed his colleague's view and hoped that Mr Stalin repeats the "uncouth remarks" in Bihar.
"TN CM Thiru @mkstalin avl is in Bihar today. Here is an evergreen compilation of his, his party members', and his alliance partners' uncouth remarks about our Bihari brothers and sisters. Hope he takes the stage with Thiru @RahulGandhi avl and proudly repeats every one of those insults in front of the very people he and his party members mocked," said Annamalai.
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