Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], January 14 (ANI): BJP leader Narayanan Thirupathy strongly condemned DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran over his remarks comparing women's empowerment in Tamil Nadu with northern states, saying the statement was offensive and showed a lack of 'common sense'.

Thirupathy demanded that Maran apologise to the people of India, particularly Hindi-speaking communities.

Speaking to ANI, Thirupathy said, 'I don't think Dayanidhi Maran has any common sense. So this is the problem. I strongly condemn Dayanidhi Maran. He has to apologise to the people of India, particularly the Hindi-speaking people, whom he says are uneducated and uncivilised.'

His remarks follow Dayanidhi Maran's comments at an event in which he highlighted welfare measures undertaken by the DMK government in Tamil Nadu. Maran referred to the state government's laptop distribution, saying beneficiaries use them to study and prepare for interviews.

'The laptops our government had distributed are used by the beneficiaries to study and give interviews. This is what we are proud of. This is the reason we in Tamil Nadu ask you to study,' Maran said.

However, Maran went on to contrast Tamil Nadu with northern states, claiming that women there are discouraged from working and are confined to domestic roles. 'In northern India, women are told not to do jobs and are asked to stay inside the house, work in the kitchen and give birth to children. But Tamil Nadu is a Dravidian state, where importance is given to your upliftment,' he said.

DMK leader TKS Elangovan later weighed in on the issue, saying the progress in women's education and empowerment depends on the party in power in different states.

'It depends on the party which is ruling the state. Now Congress is empowering women. There is no doubt that wherever Congress is ruling, they are doing good for the education of women,' Elangovan said.

Referring to Tamil Nadu, he said the state has consistently worked for women's advancement by providing education, employment opportunities and reservation in government jobs.

'Here in Tamil Nadu, we fought for women and empowered them. We gave them education. We gave them employment. We have also reserved seats in government jobs. We have been working for the advancement of women's rights from the beginning. In the north, there is nobody to fight for the women. That's all,' Elangovan added. (ANI)