'North Indian Hindi Speakers Sell Ganja, Pani Puri': Minister Blames AIADMK For Drug Menace In Tamil Nadu, Faces Huge Backlash

Nanganallur: Tamil Nadu Minister TM Anbarasan on Thursday made a fresh controversial remark as he alleged that some among the thousands of people arriving daily from northern states bring “one to two kilograms of ganja” into Tamil Nadu, and said drug-related issues were not new. 

Speaking at a DMK public meeting in Nanganallur, organised by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Anbarasan said drug-related issues had existed during the previous All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) regime. “Drug-related issues had existed since the previous regime. Around 10,000 people arrive daily from northern states to Tamil Nadu where some bring one or two kilograms of ganja with them... Under the DMK government, the situation had been brought under control and if the previous ( AIADMK) government had taken such steps, such problems would not have come,” he said.

Holding the AIADMK accountable for not having taken adequate steps to curb the problem when they were in power, he said that the current government has taken steps to rein in the problem. If similar action had been taken earlier, the situation would not have escalated, he added.

At the same event, another DMK MP Kanimozhi Somu said that students educated under Tamil Nadu’s two-language formula go on to work in high-ranking institutions abroad. Claims that those educated only in Hindi “sell ganja and sell pani puri" were also made at the event.  

"The central government is cheating Tamil Nadu in the Budget, but we are the only ones who work hard and give more in the name of taxes and they are giving it to the northern states," Somu alleged.

Anbarasan has been elected MLA of Alandur constituency three times. Since 2021, he has been the Minister for MSME, Rural Industries, Cottage Industries, Small Industries, the Slum Clearance Board, and the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board. His remarks come amid flared political exchanges over allegations of drug circulation and law and order in the state, with opposition parties targeting the DMK government over the issue.

The remarks drew sharp criticism from opposition leaders. Responding on social media, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai accused the DMK of targeting migrant workers.

“Despite innumerable attacks on migrant workers across Tamil Nadu, DMK’s ministers and MPs appear to have learnt absolutely nothing, except how to normalise their hate against migrant workers,” he said in a post on X.

"DMK MP Smt Kanimozhi Somu claims that 10,000 migrant workers educated in Hindi arrive in Tamil Nadu every day to sell “Ganja” and Pani Puri. Speaking before her on the same stage, DMK Minister Thiru T. M. Anbarasan echoed the very same narrative," he said.

He further alleged that the statements were not isolated. “This is not a slip of the tongue or an isolated remark; it is a pattern. By repeatedly stereotyping an entire section of people as criminals and petty offenders, DMK is actively legitimising social hostility and violence on the ground,” Annamalai said. 

(With ANI inputs)

Also read: BJP Releases ‘Report Card’ on DMK, Claims Only 150 of 505 Promises Fulfilled Ahead of 2026 Polls