In a shocking video that went viral on social media, DMK leader and MP, A Raja threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and gave an open call for ‘independent Tamil Nadu’.
The deputy general secretary of the ruling DMK, Raja threatened the Prime Minister and Home Minister that if they do not ‘consider’ the interests of the state, the DMK will be forced to fight for an independent Tamil Nadu. The former Union Minister and incumbent Member of Parliament gave the open call for separatism in presence of Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin. It is believed that the meeting was organised after Stalin became the Chief Minister. For the last two days, the video has been trending on social media.
Raja claimed that the Dravidian patriarch E V Ramaswamy had urged Tamilians to fight for separate nationhood, independent Tamil Nadu. Raja warned the centre that if Tamil Nadu’s interests are not catered, the DMK will be forced to tread the path of EVR.
Open threat to .@PMOIndia &.@HMOIndia for separate Tamil Nadu demand by DMK MP in the presence of the TN CM. Why is .@CMOTamilnadu encouraging this separatist agenda? pic.twitter.com/xFHoVBlgmr
— Vishwatma 🇮🇳 ( மோடியின் குடும்பம் ) (@HLKodo) July 3, 2022
“Prime Minister and Home Minister say they consider everyone equal. I would like to tell them something. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has started working for India, abandoning its demand for a separate country, Tamil Nadu. But I remember what our leader Periyar said three months before his death. He said, as long as Tamilians stay with India, there will not be opportunity to grow; the Hindus will treat us as ‘panchama’. For us, there will not be any growth at all. Tamilians will not be well-represented and well-occupied,” Raja said.
“Periyar said, if you want to prosper, wear a badge on your chest, (fight) for independent Tamil Nadu. In spite of our ideologue’s call for separate nationhood, we continued to work for and lived for India. I request Prime Minister and Amit Shah not to force us to tread the path of Periyar, taking a deviation from the path shown by Annadurai. So consider the (interests of) state of Tamil Nadu,” he added.
When Raja headed the Telecommunications and IT Ministry in the Manmohan Singh cabinet under the UPA regime, the 2G scam was reported. The scam amounting to around ₹1,766.45 billion was considered to be the largest political corruption case in modern Indian history. However, Delhi court on 21 December 2017 acquitted all accused including Raja.
