Chennai: Whereas taking part in a debate in Lok Sabha earlier this week, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP D.N.V Senthilkumar S. puzzled why the ruling Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) may solely win elections “in the heartland states of Hindi and what we generally call gaumutra (cow urine) states”.
“You (BJP) cannot come to South India. You see all the results of what happens in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka…we are very strong over there,” the first-time MP from Dharmapuri stated on 5 December, throughout the debate on the J&Ok Reservation (Modification) Invoice and the J&Ok Reorganisation (Modification) Invoice.
The remarks, which got here within the backdrop of the BJP’s thumping victory in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, drew condemnation and reproach not solely from the ruling BJP but additionally from Senthilkumar’s personal celebration, the DMK.
Talking on the ground of the Home, T.R. Baalu, the MP from Sriperumbudur and chief of DMK’s parliamentary celebration, stated Senthilkumar had been reprimanded for his feedback. “(The) statement made by Senthilkumar was not correct. TN CM (chief minister) M.K. Stalin has warned the particular member,” Baalu stated.
Senthilkumar himself apologised for his remarks quickly after.
“Commenting on the results of the five recent state assembly elections, I have used a word in an inappropriate way. Not using that term with any intent, I apologize for sending the wrong meaning across,” he stated in a publish the identical day.
However the BJP stays unconvinced and is now demanding an apology from DMK chief M.Ok. Stalin.
Addressing a press convention in Delhi Wednesday, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar stated: “I heard Mr T.R. Baalu say today that CM Stalin told MP Senthilkumar to not make such statements. But there is a question that has to be asked to Mr Baalu and Stalin: what about Udhayanidhi Stalin’s statement? Has he (Stalin) advised Udhayanidhi to apologise? What about A. Raja? Has he advised A. Raja to apologise? Why can’t Stalin apologise?”
Chandrasekhar was referring to controversial statements made by DMK leaders Udhayanidhi Stalin and A. Raja. Whereas the previous at an occasion in September likened Sanatana Dharma with ‘diseases like dengue and malaria’, the latter at an occasion later that very same month termed the Hindu faith ‘a menace not just for India but the entire world’.
As for Senthilkumar, according to the BJP, this isn’t the primary time that the Dharmapuri MP has made controversial remarks. Narayanan Thirupathy, vp of Tamil Nadu BJP, referred to the DMK chief as “a repeat offender”.
“This is not the first time that Senthil has used this term in Parliament. Though the BJP in the state has opposed his remarks and criticism against Hinduism, no action has been initiated against him by the DMK,” Thirupathy informed ThePrint.
He was referring to an occasion from February 2022 when throughout a debate on the Nationwide Training Coverage (NEP), Senthilkumar had stated on the ground of the Home: “In line with this coverage, the gross enrolment ratio must be 50 p.c, which TN has achieved way back.
“If they want to implement this policy, they should implement the Dravidian model for the development of the country. Why is their policy being thrust upon us? We reject it. If they want to implement it, they should do it in their gaumutra states.”
ThePrint reached senior DMK leaders for remark however had not obtained a response by the point of publication. This report can be up to date if and when a response is obtained.
Nonetheless, one DMK chief stated on situation of anonymity that the celebration has determined to “not comment on the issue any further”, though he known as Senthilkumar a “political novice”.
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Senthilkumar the radiologist
Senthilkumar (46) first rose to prominence in 2019 when he beat former Union minister and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) chief Anbumani Ramadoss to win the Dharmapuri seat by 63,460 votes.
The DMK chief who belongs to the influential Vanniyar neighborhood and can be a training radiologist, isn’t the primary member of his household in public life. His grandfather D.N. Vadivelu Gounder, a Congress chief, was elected to the Tamil Nadu Meeting in 1965.
In line with a DMK employee from Dharmapuri, Senthilkumar is a hands-on MP who makes frequent visits to his constituency. “He is someone who is ready to work beyond the party lines for the welfare of his constituency,” stated the employee who didn’t want to be named.
For example, this employee cited an occasion from July 2019, when the MP was among the many first to congratulate PMK chief Ramadoss and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK) N. Chandrasekaran on their nomination to the Rajya Sabha.
Excellent news for Dharmapuri Parliamentary constituency. So Dharmapuri has 3 MPs to symbolize .One DMK LokSabha MP., Rajya Sabha MP Chandrasekar from Mettur representing ADMK,and @draramadoss from PMK, Let’s all 3 work to eradicate unemployment in DPI and emphasize on water tasks
— Dr.Senthilkumar.S (@DrSenthil_MDRD) July 6, 2019
His monitor document in Lok Sabha, too, is noteworthy. According to PRS Legislative Analysis, one of many few MPs with one hundred pc attendance, he has participated in 280 debates, raised 471 questions in the home, and in addition moved six personal member payments.
A second DMK employee from the district known as Senthilkumar a “down-to-earth person”.
“He always likes to acknowledge people, hugs them, makes them feel comfortable and important,” he stated. In line with this DMK employee, it was Senthilkumar who helped get the primary cell tower to a hilly panchayat of Sitheri, Dharmapuri, in 2022.
“Remarks for which he got brickbats were mostly those that Periyar (E.V. Ramasamy), the father of the Dravidian movement, had already professed before,” the employee added.
BJP’s Thirupathy claims DMK’s intervention within the newest controversy involving the MP from Dharmapuri was prompted by the overall election subsequent 12 months. “Senthilkumar is a repeat offender, an anti-Hindu personality, and the DMK is an anti-Hindu party,” he informed ThePrint.
Thirupathy added, “The DMK has never stopped him before. Suddenly now they are intervening and apologising because they are afraid of the upcoming elections.”
‘Repeat offender, anti-Hindu personality’
Even previously, Senthilkumar has courted controversies together with his feedback together with those he made whereas opposing a bhoomi puja (groundbreaking ceremony), or his remarks on Hindu epics Mahabharat and Ramayana, in addition to Hindu gods and goddesses.
In a video he posted on X, then Twitter, in July 2022, Senthilkumar was seen dropping his mood over a groundbreaking ceremony held for a street undertaking.
“Do you know you are not allowed to do such things for a government programme? Where are other religions? Where is the Christian and Muslim representation? Invite the Christian pastor, an Imam, invite those who do not profess any religion, the atheists, the Dravidar Kazhagam representatives?” he will be seen yelling within the video.
He then asks the gang to filter earlier than telling the officers current there, “Never contact me for such events. This is the Dravidian model of governance. Include all faiths if you are going to do such rituals.”
The video was shared on X with the caption: “Trying to keep my cool. At times they make me lose my patience”. Amongst those that reacted to it was Congress chief Karti Chidambaram, who had termed it a “totally unwarranted outburst”.
ஒரு அளவுக்கு மேல் என் பொறுமையை சோதிக்கிறார்கள்.
Making an attempt to Hold my cool.
At instances they make me to lose my persistence. pic.twitter.com/l1gHdhYkQa— Dr.Senthilkumar.S (@DrSenthil_MDRD) July 16, 2022
In Could this 12 months, whereas taking part in an occasion organisation by social outfit Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam (DVK), Senthilkumar made remarks on Hindu gods Krishna and Rama, which elicited sharp criticism from many quarters.
Within the video, which he posted on X, the DMK MP is heard saying: “I would like to quote a few examples of rationalism here. Will any parent allow their child to steal the clothes of women bathing in the river, secretly enjoy watching them bathe, and then refuse to return their clothes? What do we call them when it’s happening right now? This is exactly what lord Krishna did. If he does this now, he will be arrested for eve-teasing”.
He went on so as to add, “Similarly, in Ramayana, lord Rama constructed a bridge on the ocean to reach Sri Lanka to bring back Sita. But how did Ravana reach India? Did he build any bridges? No. So who is more powerful? It is Ravana who is more powerful than Rama.”
Speaking concerning the Mahabharat, Senthilkumar stated, “Five men marry a woman. We don’t know what kind of mindset they have. They gambled by keeping that woman as a bet. When the online gambling bill was introduced, the Governor referred to it as a game of skill. So, what kind of skill did those five people possess while betting their wife away?”
Then, in an interview with a Tamil channel in July, he was heard speaking concerning the variations in Hindu rituals as practiced in northern and southern India. “In the north, Shiv and Parvati’s family stops with Ganesh. Only if you come down south, they know they also have Murugan. We don’t know if family planning happened there,” he had stated on the time.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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