During a primetime news debate on CNN News18 on the North-South tussle over the 15th Finance Commission’s formula for revenue sharing among the states of India, BJP member and spokesperson Narendra Taneja made a bizarre intervention.
When asked what he thinks about the tussle, he said, “When Sridevi died recently, northern India probably shed more tears then southern India. Was a north Indian looking at the fact that she was from the south? That is not how people of India think.”
The remark evoked an immediate response from news anchor Zakka Jacob, who said, “No, no. What does Sridevi dying and north India shedding more tears than south India have to do with money? Come on.”
A panel on CNN News18, in which Taneja along with TNM contributor Tara Krishnaswamy, senior journalist RK Radhakrishnan and Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha were discussing the disenchantment of the southern states with the Centre’s model of disbursing revenue to the states, Taneja said that ‘money is not the only thing which unites Indians.’
Watch the video here:
What a ridiculous argument #BJP spokesperson gave on a TV debate on South India feeling Central tax devolution is unfair ; he says when #Sridevi died, people from north India also shed tears !!
— Uma Sudhir (@umasudhir) March 23, 2018
The north Indian media & public described #Sridevi as "Bollywood star", erased her stupendous achievements in any Indian film industry other than the north Indian industry and worse - the blinkered #BJP spokesperson unwittingly gave a perfect example of northern privilege at work https://t.co/C4tRAnwNOd
— Anna MM Vetticad (@annavetticad) March 24, 2018
Wow.. in the debate of south subsidizing north.. BJP Spox. Brings Sridevi in the Debate.. says north Indians grieved more than south Indians.. https://t.co/U86tTINPWQ
— Srikanth (@vgsk09) March 23, 2018
Several senior leaders and CMs of the southern states in the past few weeks have raised their objections to the revenue sharing model the Centre has followed so far and the one that has been proposed in the 15th Finance Commission.
Recently, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu had said that the Centre collects money from the south and spends it on the north. “The states in southern India contribute maximum revenues to the Centre, but the money gets diverted to Northern states instead of us.”
His statement came close to the heels of Pawan Kalyan’s campaign on the same issue, who for several months now has been highlighting the Centre’s highhandedness in disbursing funds.
On Friday, Karnataka CM Siddaramiah also jumped onto the issue. "Centre asks 15th FC to use 2011 Census data instead of 1971 Census used so far to determine devolution of taxes. This will further affect the interests of the south. We need to resist," tweeted the Congress leader, while tagging the chief ministers of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Puducherry.