Patna: After DMK leader A Raja's remarks on 'Jai Shri Ram' and the idea of India, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav stated that the statement given by the DMK leader is personal adding the statement does not reflect India National Democratic Alliance view.
"This is his personal statement. It is not ours (INDIA Alliance)," said RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav
Bharatiya Janata Party IT cell head Amit Malviya on Tuesday slammed DMK's A Raja and alleged that the DMK leader had called for "Balkanisation of India and derided Lord Ram, as well as made disparaging comments on Manipuris and questions the idea of India, as a nation."
"The hate speeches from DMK's stable continue unabated. After Udhayanidhi Stalin's call to annihilate Sanatan Dharma, it is now A Raja who calls for balkanisation of India, derides Bhagwan Ram, makes disparaging comments on Manipuris and questions the idea of India, as a nation," Malviya posted on X on Tuesday.
"Congress and other INDI Alliance partners are quiet. Rahul Gandhi, their putative Prime Ministerial candidate's silence is eloquent," he posted.
Senior BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned the Congress leadership asking if they agreed with the DMK leader.
"He (A Raja) said that we will never accept 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'... Do Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge agree with this? Will DMK use such derogatory comments against deities of other religions? We respect all religions" Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Earlier, Amit Malviya posted the said speech of DMK's A Raja made in Madurai with the translation saying, "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. So, India is not 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."
"From the water tank, water comes to the kitchen. We will use the water in the kitchen. Same water from the water tank comes in toilet but we won't use it from there. What's the reason? We're having a problem psychologically. Water is the same but there's a difference from where it comes. We acknowledge both. That's toilet and this is kitchen. Similarly, in Kashmir there's a culture. Acknowledge it. In Manipur, people eat dog meat, and acknowledge it. If a community eats beef, what is your problem? Did they ask you to eat? So, unity in diversity. We've differences. Acknowledge it," he posted.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)