DMK’s Maran in soup for saying North Indian women told ‘don’t work, be in kitchen, bear children’

Remark made while he compared women from Tamil Nadu where they were encouraged academic pursuits. BJP slams Maran & alleges DMK’s abuse of North Indians was a 'regular norm'.

DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran made the remarks Tuesday while addressing students at the Quaid-E-Millath Government College for Women in Chennai | ANI File

Chennai: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Dayanidhi Maran triggered a controversy by claiming that North Indian women are asked to “work in kitchens and bear children”, while women in Tamil Nadu are encouraged towards academic pursuits.

Maran made the remarks Tuesday while addressing students at the Quaid-E-Millath Government College for Women in Chennai. The M.K. Stalin-led government was distributing laptops under a new state scheme at the event.

“Our girls should feel confident and proud with the government’s laptop while attending the interviews or pursuing higher education. It is because, Tamil Nadu is the state where we ask the girl children to keep studying. But, in the North, what do they say to girls? Don’t go to work, be at home, be in the kitchen, bear a child, and that’s your job,” he told the gathering.

The MP said Tamil Nadu, the land of Kalaignar, Anna and M.K. Stalin, was different. “In Tamil Nadu, your progress is Tamil Nadu’s growth and that’s why all the international companies are coming to Chennai because everyone here is educated, not just in Tamil, but also in English. The state government plays an important role in women’s progress,” Maran said.

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin was also present at the event.

The remarks drew sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party, with BJP spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy alleging that DMK’s abuse of North Indians was a “regular norm”.

“I don’t think Dayanidhi Maran has any common sense. So, this is the problem. I strongly condemn Dayanidhi Maran. He has to apologise to the people of India, particularly the Hindi-speaking people, whom he says are uneducated and uncivilised,” Thirupathy told the media Wednesday.

DMK spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan defended the remarks, saying they were not directed at all North Indian states.

“It depends on the party that is ruling a state. Now, the Congress is empowering women. There is no doubt that wherever the Congress is ruling, they are doing good for the education of women… Here in Tamil Nadu, we fought for women and empowered them. We gave them education. We gave them employment… In the north, there is nobody to fight for the women. That’s all,” he said.

(Edited by Prerna Madan)