A video of Telugu Desam Party MP M Muralimohan triggered off a row, after the actor-politician was seen saying that the day would soon come, when south India would declare itself as a separate country.
“There is a feeling in south that it is being neglected. Don’t force the five south Indian states to declare freedom as a separate country,” Muralimohan was seen saying in the video.
According to reports, the video surfaced from a press conference that was held in Rajahmundry on 12 February, but went viral after two TDP ministers at the Centre resigned from the Cabinet of the BJP-led Central government.
The video emerged after the two TDP ministers at the Centre resigned from the Cabinet.
The Minister faced backlash on Twitter for his divisive remark.
The MP was quoted as saying, “We are contributing more to the Central pool in the form of taxes than any other state barring Maharashtra. Then why is the Union Government treating us in a step-motherly manner. We are being treated in an inhuman way in all aspects. Now, if the mindset of the Union Government does not change, all southern states might have to come together to form a separate entity.”
The comments did not go down well among users on social media, many of whom questioned the MP's opinion on the issue.
Some users even demanded that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu spell out his stand and publicly say if he agreed with his party leader's comments.
Brewing Dissent In South India?
Just last month, actor-politician Pawan Kalyan questioned the population based formula for sharing tax revenues between states and asked if the Centre was going to use the 'success of south Indian states' against their own interests.
In January last year, Pawan had told a news channel that “The north-south divide is not between people but political class. Same rule has to be applied all over.”
“What we all in southern India feel that there is a political elite class of Delhi who want to run the entire country, having majority in Uttar Pradesh. People are rebelling against that thought,” he added.
He had also said that disrespect to 'sub-national identity' in a country like India, would create a fertile breeding grounds for separatist movements.
(This article has been published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
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