Is time running out for INDIA bloc allies to disassociate with DMK?

New Delhi: With another statement against the Hindu religion emanating from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, time is apparently running out for INDIA bloc allies to disassociate with the Tamil Nadu-based party.

A massive controversy erupted after the DMK MP DNV Senthilkumar called the Hindi heartland states ‘Gaumutra’ states in Lok Sabha. The statement came after the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in recently concluded assembly elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. “So the people of this country should think that the power of this BJP is only winning elections mainly in the heartland states of Hindi, what we generally call the 'Gaumutra' states," Senthilkumar said in the lower house of Parliament.

The DMK is a repeat offender in making statements against the Hindu religion and just weeks ago Minister and senior leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comments about “Sanatana Dharma” stating “Sanatana is like malaria and dengue and so it must be eradicated and not opposed" had created a furore.

With such repeated anti-Hindu statements emanating from the DMK, the longer INDIA bloc allies stay on with its Tamil Nadu-based ally, the more problematic it will become for them as the Lok Sabha polls are less than six months away.

After tasting success in the recent Assembly polls, where one of the major issues was anti-Sanatana Dharma remarks, the BJP is not expected to let the issue vanish into oblivion. And the saffron unit has been up in arms against these anti-Hindu jibes with Union Minister Anurag Thakur holding a presser and most of the senior leaders demanding answers from all INDIA bloc allies on the statement by the DMK leader.

The opposition bloc, which is also a claimant of the majority Hindu community in 400 Lok Sabha constituencies now needs to take a stand on the repeated “verbal offences” by its partner in Tamil Nadu. If they are seen to be standing with the DMK on the anti-Hindu remarks, the BJP is likely to make it an emotive issue across the country. Its wide use during campaigns by BJP leaders for 2024 Lok Sabha polls can be expected, sources said.

While keeping its focus on just the 40-odd Lok Sabha seats of Tamil Nadu, the DMK is seemingly making the road to 2024 more difficult for its allies in other states and also aiding the reelection bid of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources added.

Moreover, as per massive victories secured by BJP in recent Assembly polls, Hindu voters don’t seem to be in a forgiving mood. They have made it clear that the Hindu voters can't be overlooked for want of Muslim appeasement and vote of the minority community.

Several INDIA bloc parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), Janata Dal United and Rashtriya Janata Dal are being targeted by the BJP as anti-Hindu, ever since the remarks by Udhayanidhi. Such attacks by the BJP are likely to intensify after the repeat offence by the DMK MP.

It is time that the opposition parties from the INDIA bloc make their stand on these anti-Hindu rants clear before the voters of the nation or else the road to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be filled with roadblocks for them. The sooner they are seen disassociating from the DMK, the better their prospects of distancing from anti-Hindu narratives.