Ahead of Bihar Trip, Stalin Faces BJP’s ‘Dravidian Lion’ Jibe, 'Migrant Mockery' Charge

Last Updated:August 27, 2025, 12:32 IST

Annamalai, taking to X, shared a collection of video clips and tweets from his personal handle, which showed Stalin, his party leaders as well as allies mocking the people of Bihar

(Left) K Annamalai and (right) MK Stalin. (News18)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday took a dig at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, who is all set to join Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar. Apart from Stalin, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) parliamentary party leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi is also scheduled to join the yatra which aims to become a stage for opposition unity.

Raking up a row over the “anti-Bihar" and “anti-Sanatana" remarks made by DMK leaders in the past, BJP also dared the chief minister to repeat the comments on Biharis from the stage when he reaches the election-bound state.

BJP’s state spokesperson in Tamil Nadu, Narayanan Tirupathi, said: “I challenge Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, who is going to Bihar: If you have the courage, can you speak there about your son Udhayanidhi’s statement that ‘Sanatana Dharma must be destroyed’? Furthermore, can you boldly repeat the statement made by your relative and DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran that “Biharis clean toilets in Tamil Nadu"?"

He added: “Aren’t you the one who stands tall with principles? Aren’t you the lion of the Dravidian model of self-respect? Let’s see you say it."

Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai, taking to X, also shared a collection of video clips and tweets from his personal handle, which showed Stalin, his party leaders as well as allies mocking the people of Bihar. Taking a dig at the chief minister, Annamalai said: “Hope he takes the stage with Thiru @RahulGandhi avl and proudly repeats every one of those insults in front of the very people he and his party members mocked."

The JDU, too, condemned the visit, with party leader Abhishek Jha saying: “Rahul-ji has called Stalin sahab in Bihar, who has made vulgar comments on Hindu mythology. He also called Revanth Reddy, who had raised questions on the DNA of Biharis. How can Tejaswi Yadav expect that people of Bihar will support him when he is accompanied by such people with such thoughts."

The DMK is no stranger to controversies when it comes to its leaders making disparaging comments against those hailing from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Part of the broader Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu, the party emphasises Tamil pride, regional autonomy, and cultural distinctiveness. It often contrasts the southern Dravidian culture with the perceived imposition of North Indian (Hindi-speaking) culture and politics.

The DMK has also been a long-time advocate for language rights and has strongly opposed any efforts to impose Hindi as a national language. For them, regions like UP and Bihar, where Hindi is predominant, symbolise the perceived linguistic and cultural imposition from the North.

In recent years, the DMK has mocked the migration of people from UP and Bihar to Tamil Nadu for jobs, particularly in construction, sanitation, and low-wage sectors, portraying it as evidence of economic and social backwardness in the northern states.

The party has often stereotyped people from UP and Bihar as being backward, illiterate, or lacking refinement, drawing a stark contrast between the supposed progressive South (represented by Tamil Nadu) and the less-developed North.

For instance, former DMK president M Karunanidhi had made controversial remarks about the migration of people from UP and Bihar to Tamil Nadu in 2010, saying they “lack culture" and were responsible for bringing about a “cultural invasion" in the state.

In 2017, Stalin said the northern states had failed to create adequate opportunities for their youth, forcing them to migrate in large numbers to states like Tamil Nadu for manual labour. He further mocked the ‘backwardness’ of these states, suggesting that their economic conditions were so poor that people had no choice but to come to Tamil Nadu for low-paying jobs.

DMK leader SK Thamizharasan made a controversial comment about the people of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during a speech in Tamil Nadu in 2018, saying: “When people from UP and Bihar come here to Tamil Nadu, they bring their issues along with them. If they are not properly controlled, they will end up becoming the ‘kiss of death’ to our culture and economy."

Similarly, DMK’s youth wing secretary, Udhayanidhi Stalin, while addressing the issue of migrant workers leaving Tamil Nadu, was accused of mocking them for leaving the state during the lockdown and returning to their home states, suggesting that it was a sign of their weakness and lack of commitment to their jobs in Tamil Nadu.

News politics Ahead of Bihar Trip, Stalin Faces BJP’s ‘Dravidian Lion’ Jibe, 'Migrant Mockery' Charge

Read More