DMK did not draw that map: TKS Elangovan on controversial India map "excluding" PoK, Aksai Chin

CHENNAI: DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan on Thursday said that the controversial India map shared by the party's NRI wing was not drawn by the party but was "prepared" by the government of India.

Elangovan's reaction came after the BJP slammed the DMK, saying that the map excludes Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin.

"This picture shows the GDP contribution to the nation by various states wherein all BJP-ruled states are very poor in their contribution. They want to hide that. Tamil Nadu's contribution is much more than many of the BJP-rule states in the country. So, they are agitated that theirs is the worst rule in the country," Elangovan told ANI.

"They want to hide that, so they are not dealing with the data given on the map but they are pointing out the map. DMK did not draw that map, they might have copied from someplace which was prepared by the government of India only," he added.

Earlier, the BJP said the ruling party in Tamil Nadu's act is a blatant betrayal of India's sovereignty.

"DMK stands exposed as the loyal ally of India's enemies. From harbouring secessionist values to sowing unrest by deepening the North-South divide, to shamelessly placing the Chinese flag on an ISRO rocket, we thought we had seen it all when it came to DMK's anti-India activities," the BJP's Tamil Nadu unit posted on their X handle.

"Yet, they have now sunk to a new low, revealing their loyalty to forces intent on seeing India destroyed. Their act of sharing a map of India, that excludes PoK and Aksai Chin is a blatant betrayal of India's sovereignty. @arivalayam, under the leadership of @mkstalin has repeatedly demonstrated that it values its courtship with anti-national values over the integrity of India," the post added.

BJP leader and the party's state coordination committee chief H Raja took a dig at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, saying that it is too much for the latter to expect national pride from his party.

"It is too much for the Chief Minister MK Stalin to expect national pride from his party who wanted to divide the motherland as a Dravidian nation!" Raja said in a post on X.

The BJP said that it is high time the country united in calling out the DMK for its "dangerous affiliations" and reaffirming its collective resolve to defend India's sovereignty against all threats.

"It's high time the country unites in calling out the DMK for its dangerous affiliations and reaffirm our collective resolve to defend India's sovereignty against all threats! @BJP4Tamilnadu, on behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu and the entirety of Bharat, demands an unconditional apology from the DMK chief @mkstalin for this disgraceful and shameful act!" the party said in the post.

The controversy erupted after the DMK's NRI wing shared a post on the social media platform X that included a map of India that allegedly excludes Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin.