New Delhi: DMK MP D.N.V. Senthil Kumar Wednesday apologised to the Lok Sabha for a controversial word he had used to describe Hindi heartland states during a House debate the day before.
His description of the Hindi heartland as “gaumutra” states drew condemnation across party lines. He had said this while taunting the BJP that they could never win in the South.
Senthil Kumar, who has already expressed apologies in a post on social media platform X, told the House that the statement was made inadvertently. “If it has hurt the sentiments of members and sections of the people, I would like to withdraw it. I regret it,” he said, urging the Speaker to expunge the remarks.
Commenting on the results of the five recent state assembly elections, I have used a word in a inappropriate way.
Not using that term with any intent,
I apologize for sending the wrong meaning across.
— Dr.Senthilkumar.S (@DrSenthil_MDRD) December 5, 2023
In the Chair of the Speaker, Dr Kirit Premjibhai Solanki said the words had already been expunged. “But you should regret it,” he added.
#WATCH | Winter Session of Parliament | DMK MP DNV Senthilkumar S expresses regret over his ‘Gaumutra’ remark and withdraws it.
“The statement made by me yesterday inadvertently, if it had hurt the sentiments of the Members and sections of the people, I would like to withdraw… pic.twitter.com/S0cjyfb7HU
— ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2023
DMK leader T.R. Baalu also told the House that Senthil Kumar’s remarks were not correct. “Stalin (DMK head and Tamil Nadu chief minister) has warned him,” Baalu told members.
Senior BJP leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi said Kumar had hurt Hindu sentiments. “Gaumutra (cow urine) is not just urine. People revere the cow as holy and cow urine has medicinal use,” the BJP leader said.
DMK ally Congress also distanced itself from the remark, labelling the southern leader’s comment a “very unfortunate choice of words”.
“Unparliamentary. Senthil Kumar must forthwith apologize and withdraw his comments,” party MP Karti Chidambaram shared on X.
Congress leader from Maharashtra Milind Deora said the DMK must realise that such “reckless remarks” weakened the INDIA alliance’s efforts to challenge the BJP in the Hindi heartland. “India is one, and there is no place for a north-south divide,” Deora said.
Congress’s Rajeev Shukla said: “The DMK has its own politics. The Congress has its own politics. Congress believes in Sanatan Dharma, reveres gaumata, and respects all religions.”
The BJP’s sweep in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and the Congress’s only win in Telangana has invoked in the political narrative a “north-south” scenario, which the Congress is desperately trying to play down.
Apart from Telangana, the Congress rules Karnataka, while the other southern states have non-BJP parties in power, including the DMK in Tamil Nadu.
Also read: Don’t divide India on basis of north-south; Modi always unites people: Piyush Goyal