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Reacting to Karnataka Minister DK Suresh's "separate country" remark, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that the BJP will not let the country be divided.
Condemning the MP over his remark, Thakur said, 'Mohabbat Ki Dukan mein Nafrat Ka Saman bik raha hai (In the shop of love, things of hatred are being sold). "Mohabbat Ki Dukan mein Nafrat Ka Saman bik raha hai...They want to divide the country. We will not let the country be divided. First, we saved the country from their loot, and now we will save the country from being divided," the Union Minister told ANI. Meanwhile, leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said his party will not tolerate or stand for anyone speaking about 'breaking the country'. Addressing the Hous on Friday, the Congress national president said, "From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, the country and its people are one and will remain so." "Anyone who speaks of breaking the country can't be tolerated, regardless of which party he belongs to. Mallikarjun Kharge will be the first to say that from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, we are one and we will be so," he said. Stoking a massive row on Thursday, Suresh, a Lok Sabha MP from Bengaluru who also happens to be the brother of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, claimed that the Centre was mopping up crores in taxes from the southern states while giving them a negligible share of the same, adding that there will soon be a demand for separate nationhood if the 'injustice' continued. "The Centre is not giving the proper share of GST and direct taxes to South Indian states. We are facing grave injustice. The money collected from southern states through taxes is going to North Indian states. If this continues, we will be forced to demand a separate country," the Congress leader said. "The Centre is taking over Rs 4 lakh crore from us (from tax mop-ups) and we are only receiving a negligible share of it. We need to come out against this and question this government. If the government doesn't go in for necessary course correction, all southern states will have to raise the demand for a separate country," Suresh added. (ANI)
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