After Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader A Raja waded into a fresh controversy following his reported remarks on India and Lord Ram, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey condemned his remarks, alleging that he is "mentally sick" and needs to be treated well.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the DMK are allies in the INDIA bloc.
"Even Ravana didn't believe in Lord Rama, but we saw what his conclusion was. Whether one believes in the Lord or not, he exists all across the universe and in our hearts. If someone stupid doesn't know about Lord Rama, I pray that he gets blessed with wisdom. May Lord Rama enlighten those who question his existence," Dubey said while speaking to ANI.
Anand Dubey further said that the INDIA bloc condemns and dismisses Raja's remarks.
"The INDIA bloc dismisses and condemns his remarks. We are a part of the INDIA bloc, united to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). People like A Raja, who do not possess any knowledge and are mentally sick, need to be treated properly. If there are no good hospitals in Tamil Nadu, there are in Mumbai or Delhi. Get them treated," he stated.
"I urge Stalin ji (DMK Chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin) to restrict his leaders from making such statements," added the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader.
The DMK leader has stirred a fresh controversy after Bharatiya Janata Party IT cell head 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." As per Malviya, A Raja also said that he could not accept the BJP's ideology.
"If you say it's this God, this is 'Jai Sri Ram', this is 'Bharat mata ki jai', then we and Tamil Nadu will never accept Bharat Matha and Jai Shriram...I don't believe in Ramayanam but as per story this is Kamba Ramayanam," said the DMK leader.
Several BJP leaders have also questioned the remarks of the DMK leader.
DMK part of 'tukde-tuked' gang: BJP
In response to Raja's remarks, BJP leader and former union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "He 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..." Union Minister Anurag Thakur alleged that the DMK leader was part of the 'tukde tukde' gang.
"They are the people who abuse Hindi, talk about ending India, support the 'tukde tukde' gang and raise slogans of 'Pakistan Zindabad' after their leader wins the Rajya Sabha elections. They are the people who want to destroy the Indian culture. They have formed the INDI alliance but their arrogance is coming out. What was the compulsion that they had to raise slogans of 'Pakistan Zindabad' and support the 'tukde tukde' gang, not just once but a lot of times," Thakur said.
Alliance partners distance from controversial remark
Meanwhile, Tejashwi Yadav, leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which is also an ally in the INDIA bloc, said that it was his personal statement and does not reflect the view of the alliance.
"This is his personal statement. It is not ours (INDIA Alliance)," said Yadav.
