PM has joined the ‘north vs south’ debate with a tweet that took the web by storm
New Delhi:
A DMK MP’s ‘Gaumutra states’ comment in Parliament has added gas to the ‘North vs South’ debate that has been raging because the BJP’s ballot wins within the heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and the Congress’s victory in Telangana.
The BJP’s critics declare it’s the Hindi heartland the place its ideology finds resonance, and that the southern a part of the nation has rejected the celebration. The BJP says the ‘North vs South’ debate is divisive and reeks of its rivals’ reluctance to just accept ballot setbacks.
‘North vs South’
Earlier this 12 months, the Congress received the Meeting polls in Karnataka, snatching from the BJP its solely foothold within the South. The Congress victory in Telangana consolidates its place within the South. Among the many different southern states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are held by the Left and the DMK, respectively. Andhra Pradesh, nonetheless, is dominated by the YSR Congress celebration, which has backed the BJP on essential nationwide points.
For the BJP, victories in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh put the heartland states utterly below its management. In addition to these three states, the celebration holds Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh — all of immense political significance. The ‘North vs South’ assemble additionally feeds off the cultural and linguistic variations, and better GDP, increased literacy charges and decrease inhabitants in southern states. These pushing the ‘north vs south’ argument additionally level to migration from the northern states to southern states for employment.
The Flashpoint
As tendencies on counting day indicated that the BJP was successful within the heartland states and the Congress in Telangana, Congress chief Praveen Chakravarty posted on X, “The South-North boundary line getting thicker and clearer!” Congress MP Karti Chidambaram posted simply two phrases “the South”. A number of distinguished critics of the BJP pointed to excessive literacy charges within the South and steered that the BJP’s insurance policies and ideologies solely handle to persuade votes within the northern a part of the nation. Others stated the 2024 ballot struggle can be a struggle between ‘north vs south’.
These posts sparked an enormous row, with BJP leaders accusing Mr Chakravarty of pushing divisive politics. He deleted the publish later, however the debate didn’t die down. Mr Chidambaram tried to keep away from the row. On Mr Chakravarty’s publish, he stated, “I’ve not steered something like that. It’s as much as everyone’s creativeness to interpret it any means they need it to. I’m Indian, greater than anyone else. All I stated was ‘The South’, I have no idea why folks must get very enthusiastic about it.”
PM Joins BJP Pushback
High BJP leaders slammed Mr Chakravarty, chairman of Professionals’ Congress and the celebration’s information analytics division, for his ‘north vs south’ publish. BL Santhosh, BJP’s nationwide basic secretary, stated, “They at all times hold two playing cards prepared. Now they’ve taken out second card.” Kerala BJP president Ok Surendran stated that the Congress had adopted the “separatist narrative” after failing on their common capsules of “Hindu celebration, caste politics, EVMs and freebies”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined the controversy with a publish on X that took the Web by storm, because of emojis used. Commenting on a journalist’s powerful tackle the ‘north vs south’ argument and different arguments being propped as much as clarify the Congress’s setbacks within the heartland, the Prime Minister wrote, “Could they be pleased with their conceitedness, lies, pessimism and ignorance. However… Watch out for their divisive agenda. An outdated behavior of 70 years cannot go away so simply. Additionally, such is the knowledge of the folks that they must be ready for a lot of extra meltdowns forward.”
Row Reaches Parliament
The ‘North vs South’ debate was stoked by DMK MP DNV Senthil Kumar’s comment in Lok Sabha yesterday, when he described states within the Hindi heartland as “gaumutra states”. The feedback drew robust criticism from the BJP, DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and ally Congress. BJP leaders stated Mr Kumar’s remarks amounted to “hate speech” and warned that the voters will “wipe out” Opposition bloc INDIA – of which DMK is part of – within the basic elections subsequent 12 months. Union Minister Anurag Thakur slammed the INDIA bloc over the remarks, accusing them of insulting “Hindu, Hindi and Sanatan Dharma” and backing divisive concepts.
Drawing hearth, the DMK MP has apologised. “Commenting on the outcomes of the 5 latest state meeting elections, I’ve used a phrase in a inappropriate means. Not utilizing that time period with any intent, I apologise for sending the incorrect that means throughout,” he stated in a publish on X. The DMK stated Mr Stalin pulled up Mr Kumar for his remarks and stated the celebration had at all times insisted on the necessity for a dignified strategy whereas making public remarks.
