Apologise in 15 days: Bihar Congress leader sends notice to DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran over controversial remarks

Bihar Congress leader Chandrika Prasad Yadav has filed a legal notice against DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, accusing him of making casteist and derogatory remarks about Hindi speakers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Yadav alleges that Maran, in a purported video, stated that people from these states who study only Hindi build houses and clean toilets in Tamil Nadu. Yadav's notice demands a public apology from Maran within 15 days, failing which he will pursue legal action. He claims that Maran's comments not only offend Hindi speakers but also perpetuate negative stereotypes and casteist slurs against people from UP and Bihar.

Yadav, a former legislator, said he has acted in his personal capacity and that the legal notice has nothing to do with the Bihar Congress. I did not make the DMK as a party, nor did I file the complaint as a Congress leader. I felt that Maran’s remark was an attack on the self-respect and pride of Biharis, their invaluable contribution in the development of various states, HT reported.

The issue revolves around a viral video featuring controversial remarks made by Dayanidhi Maran, a Lok Sabha MP representing the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which is the ruling party in Tamil Nadu. In the video, Maran is purportedly heard making derogatory comments about Hindi-speaking people. Specifically, he is alleged to have stated that individuals from states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who speak Hindi, come to Tamil Nadu for either construction work or to engage in sanitation tasks such as cleaning roads and toilets. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and leaders associated with the I.N.D.I.A bloc have strongly condemned Maran's statements.