Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections | BJP’s Khushbu Sundar defends ‘outsider’ attack on husband, hits back at DMK’s own history

Madurai: Senior BJP leader Khushbu Sundar on Sunday dismissed criticism regarding the induction and fielding of "outsiders" in elections, pointing out that the ruling DMK’s own cabinet has leaders who switched from other parties.

Responding to queries about her husband Sundar C’s candidacy and criticism from actor Prakash Raj, Khushbu asserted that political merit is not exclusive to those born into a party.

"Look at the history of the DMK ministers like Senthil Balaji, K K S S R Ramachandran Reddiyar, and S Regupathy -- did they all grow up in the DMK? They came from elsewhere," she said.

She further took a swipe at Prakash Raj, suggesting he focus on his own electoral record where he failed to save his deposit before questioning the credentials of others.

Earlier in the day, actor Prakash Raj, campaigning for DMK’s Madurai candidate Palanivel Thiagarajan, launched a scathing political attack on both Sundar C and Khushbu.

He strongly criticised their political stances and reliability, taking a direct dig at Khushbu by pointing out that she had "jumped 3 parties in 10 years" (referencing her moves between the DMK, Congress, and BJP).

Khushbu emphasised that unlike the "dynasty politics" of the DMK, her family has built a brand through public service and hard work.

In a sharp escalation, she labeled the DMK-Congress alliance as "educated fools" for their stance on the Women’s Reservation Amendment Bill.

She argued that the opposition is intentionally "misleading" the public by ignoring the constitutional necessity of a census and delimitation before implementation.

"They are stabbing women in the chest by trying to stall this progress," she added, slamming the UPA's previous inaction on the same issue.