North is more tolerant than south India: Jairam Ramesh
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday said north India is more tolerant than south India. "If I have to choose a place to live, I will choose it in north India. Travelling in Bihar, UP and Jharkhand, I find that people are more tolerant," he said. "The elites of south India have seceded from the rest of India," he added.
In what could be considered as a controversial comment, former union minister Jairam Ramesh on Monday said north India was more tolerant than south India.Speaking at India Today Conclave-South, Ramesh said, "If I have to choose a place to live, I will choose in north India. Traveling in Bihar, UP and Jharkhand, I find that people are more tolerant, more cosmopolitan there. They are more acceptable than those in the south."His comments evoked immediate rebuttal from former CBI director R Raghvan, who was in the audience. "I have been living in south India for past 15 years after my retirement. The people in Chennai are equally accepting. There are no hostilities towards outsiders. I invite Jairam Ramesh to settle down in Chennai."Responding to Raghvan's comment, Jairam Ramesh offered to elaborate. He said, "I find the elites of south India are rooted elsewhere - in USA, Germany, Scotland and all such places. But the elites of north India are rooted in their land.""The elites of south India have seceded from the rest of India. They have become global citizens but they need to be the citizens of India first," Ramesh said at the India Today Conclave.