'Would Have Been Better If DMK MP Said...': Assam CM Himanta On 'Gaumutra States' Row

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that DMK MP DNV Senthilkumar should have referred to the Hindi heartland states as "gaumata states" instead of "gaumutra states".

File photo of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma ( Image Source :PTI )

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said that it would have been more appropriate if DMK MP DNV Senthilkumar would have said ‘gaumata' instead of 'Gaumutra'. Sarma was commenting on the DMK MP's ‘gaumutra states' remark. Sarma said.

Controversy erupted on Tuesday after the MP from Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri Lok Sabha constituency in a comment in the lower house allegedly called the states of the Indian Hindi heartland ‘gaumutra’ states. Soon after the election results for the Hindi heartland states — Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan — and Telangana were out, Senthilkumar had said: "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."

MP Senthilkumar made the remark while referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) victory in the recently concluded Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

During a press conference in Assam’s Guwahati, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that India is a country of cows, which are regarded as mothers. He said: "Right now, we will not discuss it much as we have to work for the next three months for the 2024 general elections as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to win the Lok Sabha elections with 350 to 400 seats."

After a massive uproar erupted over his controversial remark, MP Senthilkumar in a post on microblogging site X on Tuesday evening apologised for making the comment. “Commenting on the results of the five recent state assembly elections, I have used a word in an inappropriate way. Not using that term with any intent. I apologise for sending the wrong meaning across,” Senthilkumar wrote on X.  

MP Senthilkumar’s comment drew widespread criticism across political parties of the country. Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti expressed shock over the MP’s remark.

“Shocked at the derogatory remarks made by a DMK MP. Everyone in a democracy has the right to vote as per their wishes. But to demean them for it is completely unwarranted and unacceptable. The country stands divided as it is. Why must we add to it?” Mehbooba Mufti wrote in a post on X.