A fresh political confrontation erupted in Parliament after BJP leaders accused DMK stooge Kamal Haasan, a newly inducted Rajya Sabha MP backed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, of deliberately misrepresenting remarks made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a parliamentary debate on Tamil language politics.
The controversy followed Kamal Haasan’s maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha, in which he alleged that Sitharaman had insulted the Tamil language by claiming that it was unfit even for begging. BJP leaders said the allegation was false and amounted to attributing to the Finance Minister statements that were, in fact, quotations from Dravidian ideologue E V Ramasamy.
According to parliamentary records and video footage from the March 2025 debate, Sitharaman had cited EV Ramasamy’s published writings to highlight what she described as an internal contradiction within Dravidian politics. She had referred to statements attributed to Ramasamy in which Tamil was described as a “barbaric language” and as being useless even for begging, while also stating that these views angered her as a Tamilian. Sitharaman had argued that parties claiming to champion Tamil continued to venerate Ramasamy despite those remarks.
She said, “Sir, for just saying your protests are uncivil, they made the education minister withdraw his statement. When a man repeatedly says Tamil is a barbaric language, kaatumirandi bashai. Look at the hypocrisy. They keep his photo in every room. I’m sure even in the parliament office of that party, his photo is there. They garland him and they worship him and they say he’s the icon of the Dravidian movement. But he said Tamil is kaatumirandi bashai. So, sir, I’m saying unbelievable that this person is worshipped, but our poor Dharmendra Pradhan just said don’t do uncivil protest, he’s being accused. And if their love for Tamil is so much, how can they worship somebody who said Tamil is a kaatumirandi bashai phrase]?”
“They compelled Education Minister Shri.@dpradhanbjp to retract his remark merely for describing the protest as uncivil. Yet, the individual who repeatedly labelled Tamil a barbaric language is celebrated, garlanded, and projected as the face of the Dravidian movement. The double… https://t.co/OJ5NP6bYTY pic.twitter.com/S98N5xnu2C
— Dr.SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) February 4, 2026
During his speech on 4 February 2026, Kamal Haasan launched personal attacks on Sitharaman, using religious and cultural references that BJP leaders later described as casteist and derogatory. He went on to suggest that Sitharaman herself had demeaned Tamil and contrasted that claim with assertions about his own political integrity and refusal to “sell” votes.
Reacting sharply, BJP Tamil Nadu Youth Wing President SG Suryah issued a statement calling Kamal Haasan a shameless liar for lying on the floor of Parliament. Suryah wrote, “”They compelled Education Minister Shri. @dpradhanbjp to retract his remark merely for describing the protest as uncivil. Yet, the individual who repeatedly labelled Tamil a barbaric language is celebrated, garlanded, and projected as the face of the Dravidian movement. The double standards are glaring.” These were the words of FM @nsitharaman. Shameless liar @ikamalhaasan, will you acknowledge the facts, or continue to ignore them?”
“They compelled Education Minister Shri.@dpradhanbjp to retract his remark merely for describing the protest as uncivil. Yet, the individual who repeatedly labelled Tamil a barbaric language is celebrated, garlanded, and projected as the face of the Dravidian movement. The double… https://t.co/OJ5NP6bYTY pic.twitter.com/S98N5xnu2C
— Dr.SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) February 4, 2026
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