Tamil Nadu Minister ticks off north Indian residents, says they didn't vote for DMK
Chennai: Taking a dig at north Indian residents here, Minister P K Sekar Babu on Wednesday said over the years, including the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, they have not voted for the DMK.
The party's elected representatives, however, have worked for them and would continue to do so as it considered them as "one among us," he said.
His remarks came in for strong criticism from the BJP and some social media users.
Babu, Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, said though he used to be asked as to why he worked for them as they did not vote for the DMK, his answer was that they too were sons of this soil, which was also the party's stand.
The work for the north Indian people by DMK is based on the principle that an elected representative, an MLA or the Chief Minister is common to all the people, irrespective of whether or not someone had voted in favour of a party that won polls, he said.
Several areas of north Chennai, particularly a number of localities falling under the Harbour Assembly constituency, is home to a large number of people, who are natives of mainly Rajasthan and a section of them, Gujarat.
Babu, a DMK district secretary (Chennai-East), was elected from Harbour seat.
The party's elected representatives, him and the Lok Sabha MP (Central Chennai) Dayanidhi Maran fully worked to guard the interests of residents, who are natives of north India in matters including constraints in building houses, he said.
"We have worked for you without expecting anything in return," Babu said addressing an event organised by Mahavir International Chennai Metro (MICM) here.
Despite the work through the years, be it the Lok Sabha polls of 2019 or the Assembly elections including 2021, most people from the community did not vote for the DMK, he said.
"We did not get remarkable number of votes from areas where you live in large numbers. It does not matter. Even if you have not voted for us, we will continue to work for you."
During his campaign for the April 6 Assembly polls, Babu said the party had fervently appealed to the community to vote in its favour though they had not done so in previous elections.
Still, the party was not chosen and citing an example, Babu said in a particular locality, the DMK got 50 votes and the BJP about 300.
If asked about their choice, the community members had maintained that their vote was for the DMK, he said.
Seeking to reject their claim, the Minister said in this age of Electronic Voting Machines, specific, area-wise data on the electorate's choice can be zeroed in, he said.
Such data for the 2021 polls revealed that they did not vote for DMK this time too, whose MLA and MP worked for them, he said in an obvious snide remark.
Despite them not voting for DMK, the party and its elected representatives would not ignore them, he said.
"We, the DMK are here to work for you," he said and quoted a couplet from Tamil classic 'Thirukkural' to buttress his point.
The crux of the 'Inna Seitharai' couplet is good deeds for even those who have been bad and Babu said he would send a copy of the Hindi version of Thirukkural to them.
"We welcome good deeds, whoever does it," he said on the free food distribution, food bank initiative of MICM to help people affected by the pandemic.
"We don't consider you as people from outside. We consider you as from our state. We regard you as one among us," the Minister said and thanked the organisers of the event.
The Minister's remarks came in for severe criticism from a section of social media users.
BJP's national president of mahila morcha and MLA from Coimbatore-south, Vanathi Srinivasan tweeted, "The hatred spewed by Minister Sekar Babu against North Indians are condemnable and disturbing."
"To see elected officials discriminate Indians on the basis of their native roots is against every grain and soul of our constitution. Thiru. @mkstalin should take immediate action."
When votes for the Assembly polls were counted on May 2, in a number of rounds, BJP's Vinoj P Selvam was leading in Harbour constituency.
Selvam eventually finished runner-up and the Saffron party, an ally of the AIADMK secured 32,043 votes and DMK's Babu got 59,317 votes.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
