Merely personal opinions, we don't authorise them: Congress leader Manickam Tagore on DK Suresh's statement

New Delhi [India], February 2 : Reacting to Congress MP DK Suresh's "separate country" remark, party leader Manickam Tagore on Friday said that such words are "merely personal opinions" and the party does not "authorise them."
"Congress Party has fought for the country's freedom and has sacrificed many things for the country that is well recognised by the people as well. Starting from Mahatma Gandhi, Pt. Nehru, Sardar Patel. We are from that legacy. These kinds of statements from any of our friends are not acceptable," Tagore told ANI on Friday.
He further said that Congress stands for the Idea of India.
"PMs like Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and CMs like Beant Singh and Hiteswar Saikia, all sacrificed their lives for the country's unity. These kinds of words are merely personal opinions, we don't authorise them. Congress stands for the Idea of India," he added.
Amid similar uproarious scenes in the Lower House over the Congress leader's statement, BJP leader and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the remark was against the grain of the Constitution and marks a violation of his solemn oath as a Lok Sabha member.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said his party will not tolerate or stand for anyone speaking about 'breaking the country'.
Addressing the House, the Congress national president said, "From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, the country and its people are one and will remain so."
Condemning the MP over his remark, Kharge, addressing the Upper House on the third day of the Budget Session on Friday, said, "Anyone who speaks of breaking the country can't be tolerated, regardless of which party he belongs to. Mallikarjun Kharge will be the first to say that from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, we are one and we will be so."
Stoking a massive row on Thursday, Suresh, a Lok Sabha MP from Bengaluru who also happens to be the brother of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, claimed that the Centre was mopping up crores in taxes from the southern states while giving them a negligible share of the same, adding that there will soon be a demand for separate nationhood if the 'injustice' continued.
"The Centre is not giving the proper share of GST and direct taxes to South Indian states. We are facing grave injustice. The money collected from southern states through taxes is going to North Indian states. If this continues, we will be forced to demand a separate country," the Congress leader said.
"The Centre is taking over Rs 4 lakh crore from us (from tax mop-ups) and we are only receiving a negligible share of it. We need to come out against this and question this government. If the government doesn't go in for necessary course correction, all southern states will have to raise the demand for a separate country," Suresh added.
Demanding that the matter be referred to the Ethics Committee, the Union Minister also called on the Congress to act against the MP.
Miffed over the MP's remarks, BJP Lok Sabha member Tejaswi Surya, quoting national poet Kuvempu, posted from his X handle, "Rashtrakavi Kuvempu, in our Nada Geethe, says, 'Jaya Bharatha Jananiya Tanujaate, Jaya Hey Karnataka Mathe (Victory to Mother Karnataka, The Daughter of Mother India!)."
Accusing the Congress of playing divisive politics, the BJP MP added, "While the Congress Party has a history of 'Divide and Rule', its MP Sri @DKSureshINC plays the trick again now, wanting the North and South to be divided."
He added that the tax devolution under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been far more than when the UPA government was in power.
"The tax devolution to Karnataka during UPA-2 from 2009-14 stood at Rs 53,396 crore, whereas Tax devolution during 2014-19 under @NarendraModi Ji Govt crossed 1.35 lakh crore," Surya wrote.