On February 7th, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a powerful speech in response to the ‘Motion of Thanks’ in the Rajya Sabha, excoriating the Congress party for pushing a north-south divide in India. He underlined the need for competitive, cooperative federalism and advocated for the collective development of states as an approach to accomplish national growth.

Hitting out at Congress MP DK Suresh on his ‘separate nation for southern states’ remark, PM Modi accused the Congress of creating narratives to divide the country. “Some are trying to divide the country over funds,” PM Modi said in his speech in Rajya Sabha. Referring to the comments by the Congress MP, the Prime Minister said that this kind of mindset that is coming out of a national party is “unfortunate.”

Striking an analogy between the functioning of the country and that of the human body, PM Modi emphasised that even if one state remains destitute and underdeveloped, the nation cannot be deemed developed, just as a non-working bodily part affects the whole body.

“Today I want to share my pain on a specific matter…The way language is being spoken these days to break the country, these new narratives are being made for political gains. An entire state is speaking this language, nothing can be worse for the country than this…what language have we started saying? A nation is not just a piece of land for us. For all of us, it is an inspirational unit…If one limb of the body does not function, the entire body is considered disabled. Similarly, if one corner of the country is devoid of development, the country cannot become developed. The kind of language that is being spoken today, new narratives are being built out of political selfishness to break the country. What can be a bigger misfortune for the country?” PM Modi said.

“If an Adivasi youth from Jharkhand wins a medal in the Olympic games, do we think that he is a child of Jharkhand…the entire country says calls him ‘desh ka bachcha’. [Covid] Vaccine… do we say that the vaccine was made in a particular corner of the country, so the country cannot get it, can we think like this…? Such a mindset is coming out of a national party…”, PM Modi continued.

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— Rahul Roushan (@rahulroushan) February 7, 2024

In a strong and emotional voice PM Modi posed certain questions before the House to emphasise the significance of national unity. “I want to ask..what if Himalaya starts saying these rivers originate from me, I won’t give you [country] their water it belongs to me, what will happen to the country? If coal-rich states start saying that coal is their property and go live in darkness, how will the country function? During the Covid pandemic, the country needed oxygen cylinders, if people of the east had turned adamant that oxygen belongs to them and our people need it…we cannot give it to the countrymen, what would have been the situation of this country? We faced difficulties and supplied oxygen within the country and beyond… It’s unfortunate! Our tax, our money! What sort of language is being used? This is dangerous to the future of the country,” PM Modi added.

PM Modi’s remark came after Congress leader DK Suresh recently sparked outrage after he accused the Centre of not releasing funds to South Indian states. He also went on to say that in future, South Indian states may demand a separate country for themselves and become a separate nation. He said in response to the budget that the money collected from Southern states is being used in Northern states. The Congress MP further warned that if this alleged ‘injustice’ continues, they (Southern states) will be forced to demand a separate country.

PM Modi while slamming the Congress party on Wednesday over fuelling ‘north-south fund fight’ said, “Divisive politics over government funds is dangerous. State politics on national resources is dangerous. We cannot see state funds in a narrow prism. The Congress, which consistently exploited caste, creed, and language fault lines; the Congress that fostered separatism and terrorism for its own interests, the Congress that exacerbated violence, separatism, and underdevelopment in the Northeast; the Congress party whose governance put forth a considerable hurdle in tackling Naxalism; the Congress that ceded substantial national territory to adversaries; and the Congress that impeded the modernisation of our armed forces, is now espousing views on national and internal security” PM Modi said.

Congress and divisive politics go hand in hand

The Congress party has an infamous history of fueling regional divides in the country. In December last year, after suffering a crushing defeat in Hindi heartland states Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, the party ecosystem attempted to justify the failures by fueling the north-south divide. On 3^rd December 2023, Congress leader Karti Chidambaram wrote on X, “The South.” This was after Congress was reduced to a shadow of its former self in Madhya Pradesh, lost Rajasthan, a surprising but emphatic loss in Chhattisgarh, but stormed its way to power in Telangana.

In November last year, incumbent Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy fanned the ‘North-South’ rift in an attempt to depose Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. In a November 2023 interview with India Today, Reddy claimed that the first Chief Minister of Telangana, K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR), has ‘Bihari genes’ and suggested that he was a better alternative for the state than KCR. “My DNA is Telangana. KCR’s DNA is from Bihar. He is Bihari. KCR’s caste is Kurmi. They migrated from Bihar to Vijayanagaram and then to Telangana. Telangana DNA is better than Bihar DNA,” Reddy said.

In 2020, Rahul Gandhi attacked North Indian states, stating that they had weakened Panchayat Raj.  Rahul Gandhi stated that North Indian states do not empower people as much as South Indian states because North Indian states believe in centralised power, but South Indian states believe in ideals such as Panchayati Raj.

In February 2022, Rahul Gandhi sparked a national debate by challenging the concept of India as a “nation,” which led to accusations that he was inciting sub-nationalism. Speaking in Parliament on the motion of appreciation to the President’s Address in Lok Sabha, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi argued that India was only a “union of states” rather than a nation.

While Congress party may launch numerous Bharat Jodo and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatras, its perennial divisive approach towards Bharat and its people remains unchanged over the years be it on regional, religious or caste lines.