Udhayanidhi, maintains that he will not be cowed down by “saffron threats”
AMN / WEB DESK
BJP on Sunday hit out at DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s controversial remarks on Sanatana Dharma.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, party Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said, just after 24 hours of I.N.D.I.A alliance meeting, Udhayanidhi has given this statement. He said, this is not a statement given in isolation but it is having a complete consequential sequence.
Mr Trivedi said, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin’s son, Udaynidhi Stalin’s remarks have revealed the true face of ‘Mohabbat ki Dukaan’.
“The Supreme Court had made an observation that they will take a suo-motu cognisance of hate speech. I hope the apex court takes an appropriate step on this utterly unequivocal and violence-provoking hate speech,” he said.
Union home minister Amit Shah accusing him of “insulting” Hindu beliefs as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attacked the Opposition’s INDIA grouping over appeasement politics.
Meanwhile Udhayanidhi, the son of Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, maintained that he will not be cowed down by “saffron threats”while pushing for an egalitarian society.
Addressing a meeting of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association in Chennai on Saturday, Udhayanidhi called for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma (a set of duties and way of living as proscribed in the Hindu religion) to establish social justice and equality.
“Few things cannot be opposed, they should only be abolished. We can’t oppose dengue, mosquitoes, or corona [Covid-19], we have to eradicate them. In the same way, we have to eradicate Sanatana [Dharma]. Rather than merely opposing Sanatana, it should be eradicated,” he said in Tamil.
During his speech, the 45-year-old MLA said Sanatana Dharma stood “against equality and social justice”.
“What is the meaning of Sanatana? It is eternal, that is, it cannot be changed; no one could pose any question, and that is the meaning,” he said, adding that the doctrine led to the division of society on caste lines.
Targeting Udhayanidhi for his comments, Shah said members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA — a coalition of 28 Opposition parties, including the DMK — have resorted to hurting Hindu religious sentiments for the sake of vote bank politics.
“The Opposition alliance has been insulting ‘Sanatana Dharma’. Leaders of the DMK and Congress are talking about ending Sanatana Dharma just for votebank politics. This is not the first time they have insulted our Sanatana Dharma,” Shah said at a rally in poll-bound Rajasthan.
In a post on X late on Saturday, Udhayanidhi said he was ready to face any legal challenge. “Will say it today, tomorrow, and forever: Our resolve to stop Sanatana Dharma from the Dravidian land would not reduce even a bit,” he said.
He added in another post: “I stand firmly by every word I have spoken. I spoke on behalf of the oppressed and marginalised, who suffer due to the Sanatan Dharma. I am ready to present the extensive writings of Periyar and Ambedkar, who conducted in-depth research on Sanatan Dharma and its negative impact on society, in any forum.”
While the Congress party maintained distance from the row over Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remark on Sanatan Dharma, Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman put out an old video of Tamil Nadu Congress chief KS Alagiri saying that the purpose of the alliance in the state is to destroy Sanatan Dharma. This comes as the Sanatan Dharma row turned into a major controversy with the opposition alliance INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) facing the heat for the DMK leader’s statement.