VELLORE: In a controversial remark in the ongoing war of words between DMK and the BJP-ruled centre over NEP and delimitation, Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan said, “North Indians have no other job except making children.”
He was speaking at a protest organised at Gudiyattam to condemn union minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s insulting remarks at TN MPs. “First, they said, ‘We Two, Ours Two.’ Then, ‘We Two, Ours One.’ And now? ‘We two, why even one?’ Fine, we followed it. But look at North India-no such rules! They have no other job except making children. Each one made 17, 18, or even more,” he said.
“We missed our chance,” he added in mock disappointment, in reference to the argument that southern states like Tamil Nadu, which successfully implemented the family planning measures introduced by the central government since 1971, would be unfairly penalised with reduced parliamentary representation if delimitation is carried out on the basis of population.
Far from stopping there, Duraimurugan went on to accuse North Indians of not bathing even once a day. To drive his point home, he narrated an anecdote about a cow that couldn’t tolerate the stench of a North Indian man and ran away.
He ended his tirade with a warning: “You call us uncivilised, a Tamil won’t argue with you, he’ll just cut your tongue off!”
The state-wide protest meetings were organised by DMK as part of its opposition to delimitation, Hindi imposition, and the Centre’s blocking of funds.