TN Governor, BJP slam DMK leader Bharathi for calling Nagas ‘dog-eaters’

At an event to commemorate Kalaignar Karunanidhi’s birth centenary, DMK leader R.S. Bharathi spoke about Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi’s efforts to reportedly stall the DMK government’s efforts and keep Bills pending in the Legislative Assembly by not giving assent.

Referring to R.S. Ravi’s stint as Governor of Nagaland, R.S. Bharathi stated at the event (as seen in a viral video), “Do you know what happened in Nagaland? They chased him (Ravi) away. The people of Nagaland eat dog meat. If those who eat dog meat can be so sensitive that they chased the Governor away, how sensitive should the Tamils, who eat rice with salt, be?”

TN BJP leader K. Annamalai on Monday told the media, “Naga people have a very unique tradition; they are India’s pride. You call the brave Naga people as dog-eaters–that is an insult to the whole of India. DMK people have no respect. BJP Tamil Nadu is writing a letter to MK Stalin asking him to give 50 names from the DMK. BJP Tamil Nadu will sponsor these 50 people to go to Nagaland and see the beautiful culture.” Annamalai added that the DMK was constantly insulting the Governor as a diversionary tactic to take away the attention from the corruption they were engaged in.

In response to Bharathi’s comments on November 5, the Tamil Nadu Governor wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Nagas are brave, honest and dignified people. Thiru R.S. Bharathi, a senior DMK leader, publicly insulting them as ‘dog eaters’ is scurrilous and unacceptable. I urge Mr Bharathi not to hurt a community of which the whole of India is proud.”

Within hours, Bharathi promptly responded to the Governor’s post on his X profile saying this was a diversionary tactic on Ravi’s part and eating dog meat was a part of Naga culture as declared by the Gauhati High Court. TN BJP vice president Narayanan Thirupathy also spoke to the media on Monday, saying, “R.S. Bharathi has not only insulted the Nagaland people, he demeaned, degraded and spoke with disrespect about them. It is highly condemnable. We hope that the CM instructs, advises, or punishes this person. We demand the arrest of R.S. Bharathi, and he has to apologise to the people of Nagaland and Tamil Nadu.”