The debate in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday — on the situation prevailing in Kashmir following the killing of militant Burhan Wani and the Valley reeling under curfew for 33 days — saw a gamut of reactions from lawmakers. Leaders such as Ghulam Nabi Azad and Karan Singh, who hail from the State, expressed their concern, while S.S. Manhas spoke of how Ladakh and Jammu should be considered too. But it was AIADMK MP A. Navaneethakrishnan's speech that stole the show.
The MP displayed his crooning skills in the Upper House with a rendition of yesteryear Tamil film song 'Kashmir Beautiful Kashmir' sung by T.M. Soundararajan and enacted by former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran, who is also the founder of the AIADMK. The song raised some chuckles in the House, especially from Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
When Deputy Chairperson P.J. Kurien was willing to allot more time so that he could sing the full song, Mr. Navaneethakrishnan passed the buck onto his party colleague Maithreyan, who was seen smiling.
Mr. Navaneethakrishnan touched upon myriad topics to establish the Tamil Nadu-Kashmir connect right from Tamil movies shot in Kashmir to Kashmiris visiting his State being thrilled to see the sea.
He even shared a 'secret' — that his mother, like many pregnant women in Tamil Nadu, took Kashmir saffron to "give birth to beautiful babies." "My wife took it. My daughter-in-law took it, my granddaughter will also have it," he said.
"Kashmir to Kanyakumari, India is one. I too belong to Kashmir, Kashmir belongs to me," he roared amidst thumping applause.
"Kashmiris are very very nice people. They have real concern for Tamil Nadu... Tamil Nadu people too want a beautiful and peaceful Kashmir," he said.
He appealed to the government to 'find' the problem and remove it. In his usual style, Mr. Navaneethakrishnan mentioned 'Puratchithalaivi Amma' a few times in his five-minute speech and ended it thanking Ms. Jayalalithaa.
Social media immediately took note of his speech. "Be it Kabali or Kashmir you cannot match the tamil spirits. #magizhchi," @Raj_Saravan tweeted.
Some thanked him for "giving a breather" to a serious debate, while others praised Mr. Kurien's way of conducting the House. Mr. Kurien had noted the speech was "very patriotic and emotional."
Watch his speech:
