BJP slams Stalin for Bihar visit, rakes up past remarks against Biharis by DMK leaders

The BJP on Wednesday (August 27) launched a bitter tirade against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin over his visit to Bihar and raked up past comments made against the state and ‘Sanatana Dharma’ by DMK leaders to target the party chief.

Stalin is visiting Bihar to participate in the Rahul Gandhi-led Voter Adhikar Yatra to show his support for INDIA Bloc.

Ahead of Stalin’s visit, BJP leaders also dared him to repeat comments made against Biharis by his party leader Dayanidhi Maran and those on Santana Dharma made by his son Udhayanidhi Stalin on Bihar’s soil.

Also read: Stalin says ‘true’ AIADMK workers not happy with alliance with BJP

‘Called Biharis toilet cleaners’

“I challenge Tamil Nadu CM, who is visiting Bihar, if you have the courage, can you speak there about your son Udhaiyanidhi's statement of 'Sanatana Dharma must be destroyed?' and can you repeat the statement made by your relative and DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran that, ‘Biharis clean toilets in Tamil Nadu’,” BJP’s state spokesperson in Tamil Nadu, Narayanan Tirupathi, wrote in a social media post.

“Aren't you the one who stands tall with principles? Aren't you the lion of the Dravidian model of self-respect? Let's see you say it,” he said.

Also Read: Slammed for ‘social harmony’ reel, Pune influencer deletes video

Calling Stalin’s visit to Bihar as “laughable”, Thirupathi said it was “shameful” for him to go Bihar asking for votes after having insulted its residents and that he must apologise first.

“Your DMK people have been abusing the Biharis as illiterates, panipuri sellers, toilet cleaners in Tamil Nadu...You have insulted Biharis, and now you are going to Bihar. How dare you? First, you apologise to Bihar for abusing them," he said.

"You are going there for votes. Isn't it shameful?" Thirupathi added.

Also Read: ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ ground report: SIR issue dominates in Bihar; what voters say

Annamalai shares list of ‘uncouth remarks’

BJP’s former Tamil Nadu chief, K Annamalai, went a step further and posted a compilation of “uncouth remarks” that he claimed were made by DMK leaders and the party’s coalition partners against Biharis in the past.

“TN CM Thiru @mkstalin avl is in Bihar today. Here is an evergreen compilation of his, his party members', and his alliance partners' uncouth remarks about our Bihari brothers and sisters. Hope he takes the stage with Thiru @RahulGandhi avl and proudly repeats every one of those insults in front of the very people he and his party members mocked," Annamalai posted on X.

JD(U) slams Stalin

The Janata Dal (United), too, slammed Stalin's Bihar visit. "Rahul ji has called Stalin sahab in Bihar, who has made vulgar comments on Hindu mythology. He also called Revanth Reddy, who had raised questions on the DNA of Biharis. How can Tejaswi Yadav expect that people of Bihar will support him when he is accompanied by such people with such thoughts," said JD(U) leader Abhishek Jha.

Also read: ‘I am Kalaignar’s grandson’: Udhayanidhi won’t apologize for Sanatana remark

Past controversies

In late 2023, a controversy had erupted over an apparently old video of Maran, DMK MP from Chennai Central constituency, in which he was purportedly seen as saying that the Hindi speakers from Bihar "build houses" and "clean toilets" in Tamil Nadu.

It followed another controversy that year over Udhayanidhi's "eradicate Sanata Dharma" remark. Udhayanidhi, who is the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, besides holding the sports portfolio, had compared Sanatana Dharma with diseases like dengue and malaria.