Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has said he is not anti-Tamil Nadu and will do nothing against the interests of the Tamils.
How can he be anti-Tamil when he himself is partly a Tamilian and his wife, Jayashree, is a hundred per cent Tamilian, he said, talking to The Hindu on Thursday.
He was reacting to the DMK’s decision to organise a public meeting in Madurai on November 1 to condemn the manner in which he had conducted himself in the Mullaperiyar dam issue.
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Mr. Ramesh said he held DMK founder C.N. Annadurai, party president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and the DMK, which, he said, was working for social justice, in high esteem. He said he had written extensively on how Tamil Nadu had progressed in all spheres, becoming a role model for various States.