Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP A Raja has said that India is not a nation but a subcontinent.
“Here, Tamil Nadu is a country, with one language, and one culture. Malayalam is another language and a culture. Keeping them all together is what made India – this makes India a subcontinent, not a country,” said the legislator.
Raja was speaking at a function in Coimbatore on March 1
Raja also said that the people of Tamil Nadu would never accept slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” in the way that they are used by Hindutva proponents.
Raja said: “If this the god you are talking about, if this is your ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, we will never accept your ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Bharat Mata’.”
He added: “Tamil Nadu cannot accept that. You go and tell everyone that we are enemies of Ram.”
He was referring to supporters of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case chanting “Jai Shri Ram” slogans when the men were released from jail.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said that Raja’s statements reflect a “Maoist ideology.”
Even several members of political parties from the INDIA bloc also said that they disagreed with Raja’s remarks.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said that she believes “Ram belongs to everyone and is all-encompassing”.
She said: “I believe that Ram, who was called Imam-e-Hind, is above communities, religions and castes…It could be his [Raja’s] statement, I do not support it. I condemn it and I think people should exercise restraint while talking.”
