A fresh political row has erupted in Tamil Nadu after DMK MP Kanimozhi Somu’s remarks on Hindi-speaking migrant workers drew sharp criticism from BJP state president K Annamalai, who accused the ruling party of “normalising hate”.
Speaking at a recent public event, Kanimozhi Somu said that children in Tamil households today were progressing globally because they studied Tamil and English. She contrasted this with Hindi-speaking migrants arriving in Tamil Nadu, claiming that “10,000 people are coming every day” and that many of them were engaged in “selling ganja or running pani puri stalls.”
She said she did not wish to belittle any profession but added that Tamil students, after crossing the seas, were becoming scientists, doctors, engineers and working in global firms such as Google, in what she described as the state’s educational progress.
Her remarks quickly snowballed into a controversy, with the Tamil Nadu BJP alleging that the comments stereotyped migrant workers.
In a strongly worded post on X, Annamalai said that despite repeated incidents of attacks on migrant workers in the state, ministers and MPs of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had “learnt absolutely nothing”.
He further alleged that DMK minister TM Anbarasan, who shared the stage, echoed similar sentiments, calling it a “pattern” rather than a slip of the tongue.
“By repeatedly stereotyping an entire section of people as criminals and petty offenders, DMK is actively legitimising social hostility and violence on the ground,” he said.
The controversy comes amid ongoing political friction in the state over language, migration and employment. Tamil Nadu has long resisted the imposition of Hindi, with the DMK positioning itself as a defender of Tamil identity and linguistic rights. At the same time, the state has seen a steady influx of migrant workers from northern states employed in construction, manufacturing and services.
The DMK has not issued a detailed clarification on the remarks so far. However, party leaders have previously maintained that their opposition is to “Hindi imposition” and not to people speaking the language.
The row also comes at a politically significant moment.
The 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly is set to go to the polls in the coming months. In 2021, the DMK individually won 133 seats, while the ruling alliance secured 159 seats in total, returning to power with a decisive mandate.
With the DMK-led alliance aiming to replicate its dominant performance, every public remark is being viewed through an electoral lens. Opposition parties are likely to frame the migrant worker issue as part of a broader narrative around governance, social harmony and economic opportunity in the state.
As the campaign season gradually gathers momentum, the war of words over language and migration appears set to sharpen, adding another flashpoint to Tamil Nadu’s already charged political landscape.
