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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hit out at the Congress for creating a north-south divide and ripped through the grand old party for allegedly working against the "interests of the nation."
Hitting out at Congress MP DK Suresh on his 'separate nation for southern states' remark, PM Modi accused the Congress of creating narratives to divide the country. "Some are trying to divide the country over funds," PM Modi said in his reply to the Motion of Thanks in Rajya Sabha. 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 Prime Minister further said that this kind of mindset that is coming out of a national party is "unfortunate." "A nation is not just a piece of land for us. For all of us, it is an inspirational unit...If one limb of the body doesn't function, the entire body is considered disabled. Similarly, if one corner of the country is devoid of development, the country cannot become developed...The language that is being spoken today, new narratives are being built out of political selfishness to break the country," he added. The Prime Minister further said, "What can be a bigger misfortune for the country?... Such a mindset is coming out of a national party. It is unfortunate!... Our tax, our money! What language is being used? This is dangerous to the future of the country." PM Modi also highlighted that the political leaders should encourage people towards national unity, and promoting the richness of Indian diversity. Congress MP and Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar's brother, DK Suresh, courted controversy last week as he expressed dissatisfaction over the allocation of funds to the southern state. "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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