On Tuesday (6th February), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lashed out at Dravidra Munnetra Kazagham (DMK) leader TR Baalu for making disgraceful remarks about Dalit Minister L Murugan.
During a heated discussion in the Parliament over the disbursal of funds to Tamil Nadu in the wake of ‘Cyclone Michaung’, TR Baalu lashed out at Minister of State L Murugan.
“Don’t interfere. You are unfit to be an MP…you are unfit to be a minister! Sit down!” he was heard saying. It must be mentioned that Murugan belongs to the Dalit (SC) community in Tamil Nadu.
Thiru TR Balu is a disgrace to politics & this is not the first time he has made disgraceful remarks about a member of the Scheduled Caste Community. I strongly condemn these remarks on Hon MoS Thiru @Murugan_MoS avl in the Temple of Democracy.
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) February 6, 2024
Our Hon PM Thiru @narendramodi… pic.twitter.com/TDt3p39hks
The distasteful remark by the DMK MP did not sit well with the BJP. Law Minister Arjun Meghwal sought an apology from TR Baalu. “You cannot call our minister ‘unfit’. Take back your words…They should be struck off the record,” he emphasised.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi remarked, “How can you call him unfit? The DMK government is unfit! Congress is unfit! You called a Dalit minister unfit…He is insulting the entire SC community.”
In a tweet, BJP Tamil Nadu President K Annamalai said, “Thiru TR Balu is a disgrace to politics & this is not the first time he has made disgraceful remarks about a member of the Scheduled Caste Community. I strongly condemn these remarks on Hon MoS Thiru @Murugan_MoS avl in the Temple of Democracy.”
He added, “Our Hon PM Thiru @narendramodi avl is a true champion of Social Justice & has made a member of the Arundhathiyar community a Minister, which DMK could never despite being in the Central govt for decades. Hon MoS Thiru @Murugan_MoS avl’s unwavering commitment to serving the people & his dedication to bringing a positive difference as a Minister of State has surely irked DMK MPs.”
“Only an arrogant man like Thiru TR Baalu can term a member of parliament & a Minister from the SC community as “Unfit” & Thiru TR Baalu has to render an unconditional apology to the people of the SC community for calling their representative “Unfit”,” Annamalai concluded.
