New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday reiterated her position that the DMK government in Tamil Nadu is an anti-Hindu party, media reports said.

She clarified that her choice of words was deliberate and not casual.  She maintained that her statements are well-considered, and she verifies information by examining real-world activities before making any comments.

In an exclusive interview with Rahul Joshi, Editor-in-Chief of Network18, Sitharaman insisted, "I have been careful with my words. I meant what I said, and I genuinely believe that the DMK consistently targets Hindus in Tamil Nadu. My observations are based on personal experiences and a deep understanding of the state. I refrain from speaking prematurely or recklessly."

“Unfortunately, if that is the politics of a state party, which has had a lot of ideological support extended to separatist politicians of years gone by, whether they support it even today I don’t know, but there are periodic voices which come out and are very separatists in tone and tenor,” she added.

In her recent statements, Nirmala Sitharaman continued to assert her claims that the Tamil Nadu government was making efforts to hinder the live telecast of the Ram Temple event in Ayodhya.

She expressed concern over the decline of the Indian National Congress, a national party, in Tamil Nadu. She lamented that the party has been weakened in the state, highlighting that it currently struggles to secure electoral victories independently and often needs to form alliances with other political parties.

“BJP is of course a beginner in Tamil Nadu. It’s been there since Jana Sangh days and it is gaining strength and it will continue to work for the people. My grief is Congress being a national party joins anti-Hindu voice,” Nirmala Sitharaman said in the interview.

The Congress didn’t criticise the anti-Hindu party DMK and backs such voices of the party in the state. “Even the sitting MP DK Suresh, who is the brother of Karnataka’s deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar also speaks in a separatist voice.”

On February 1, DK Suresh had said the southern states would be compelled to call for a separate nation if the ‘injustice’ was not rectified. According to him, the southern states were not getting their due share in the taxes as the same collected from the south were being distributed to the states in the north India.