'Won't Tolerate It': Congress Distances Itself from DK Suresh's 'Separate Nation' Remark Amid Parl Uproar

As chaos over Congress MP DK Suresh’s ‘separate nation for southern states’ remark continued to rock the Lok Sabha proceedings on Friday, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the Congress won’t tolerate such statements as BJP leaders sought strict action against Suresh.

“If anyone speaks about breaking the country, we will never tolerate it irrespective of whichever party they belong to. Mallikarjun Kharge will himself say that from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, we are one and we will be one,” the Congress chief said in Parliament.

Calling himself a ‘proud Indian’, Karnataka Congress chief and deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s brother, MP DK Suresh, on Friday issued a clarification for his “separate country for South India” remark, saying the intention behind his statement was to bring to notice the “injustice in funds distribution” by the BJP-led central government.

The Bangalore Rural MP said the injustice is meted out to the southern states in tax distribution while the tax money is distributed to North India.

“Our tax money is being distributed to north India, if we don’t condemn it there might arise a situation where we will have to demand for a separate nation,” DK Suresh said while responding to a question on the Interim Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday. The statement has invited severe criticism from the BJP.

BJP DEMANDS APOLOGY

The BJP lashed out at the Congress for “hatching a dangerous plot to partition India yet again.”

“Faced with constant rejection by Indians, Congress is now seeding secessionism. Following Nehru’s legacy, Karnataka Deputy CM @DKShivakumar’s brother, @DKSureshINC demands a separate country,” the BJP attacked the Congress MP on X.

“If Congress leaders do not wish to live in India, they are more than welcome to quit India and move to their ‘Motherland’ Italy,” the saffron party added.

Union Minister for Mine, Coal and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi, condemned Suresh’s remark and said, “I, too, hail from South India, and I, along with my colleagues from the region, believe in India’s unity. We condemn such remarks. I urge Sonia Gandhi to issue an apology and take action against the MP.”

CONGRESS REACTS

Reacting to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi’s comments about DK Suresh’s remark in Parliament, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said what the minister said was unparliamentary on two grounds.

“First, he raised an issue which has nothing to do with the house. It was not a statement which was made in the house. Secondly, he did so based on media reports which have not been verified. Neither of those is admissible in the house… Why was the minister allowed to misuse the time of the house in this manner?” he clarified.