Udhayanidhi Stalin compares 'Sanatana Dharma' to dengue, malaria; triggers row
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's son and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Udhayanidhi Stalin has sparked controversy after he allegedly claimed that Sanatana Dharma is against equality and social justice. Addressing a conference on Saturday, the state youth welfare and sports development minister also compared Sanatana Dharma with "malaria" and "dengue" and stated that it should be "eradicated."
Here's what Udhayanidhi said on 'Sanatana Dharma'
Speaking at the "Sanatana Abolition Conference" in Chennai, Udhayanidhi stated, "I thank the organizers of this conference for giving me the opportunity to deliver a special address." "You have kept the name of the conference as 'Sanatana Abolition Conference' rather than 'Anti-Sanatana Conference', I appreciate that," news agency ANI quoted the DMK leader as saying.
Udhayanidhi calls for eradication of 'Sanatana Dharma'
While calling for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma, he added, "We cannot oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria, or coronavirus. We have to eradicate this; that is how we have to eradicate Sanatana. Rather opposing Sanatana, it should be eradicated." "The name Sanatana is from Sanskrit. It is against social justice and equality," the Tamil Nadu minister further claimed.
Udhayanidhi faces backlash
The remarks quickly sparked a massive political row in Tamil Nadu, with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell chief Amit Malviya claiming that the DMK leader has called for "genocide." While sharing a video of his address on X (formerly Twitter), the BJP leader wrote, "He (Udhayanidhi) is calling for the genocide of 80% population of Bharat (India), who follow Sanatana Dharma."
Check out Malviya's post here
Top Tamil Nadu BJP leader compares DMK to 'cancer'
Meanwhile, state BJP Vice President Narayanan Thirupathy, reacting to Udhayanidhi's remarks on Sanatana Dharma, said this is not new for the DMK. "For them, good things are bad and bad things are good. 'Sanatana Dharma' is eternal," he said. "DMK is a communal party that hops on the vote bank of Muslims and Christians because they vote religiously," he added.
Here is Thirupathy's response to Udhayanidhi
Udhayanidhi responds to backlash
In response to the ongoing political row over his comments, Udhayanidhi clarified that he never called for "genocide" and that he was ready for legal challenges. "I am ready to face any legal challenge...We will not be cowed down by such usual saffron threats," he tweeted. "Our resolve to stop Sanathana Dharma from the Dravidian land would not reduce even a bit," Udhayanidhi added.
Congress doesn't want to comment on any religion: Nana Patole
On the other hand, the opposition alliance of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which the DMK is part of, is also facing heat due to Udhayanidhi's remarks. The Congress, however, distanced itself from the controversy, with Maharashtra Congress head Nana Patole telling ANI, "Congress's stand is clear, we do not want to comment on any religion or to hurt anyone's sentiments."
All you need to know about 'Sanatana Dharma'
Sanatana Dharma is an endonym used by Hindus to refer to the teachings of Hinduism. According to Wikipedia, Sanatana Dharma in Sanskrit roughly translates to "eternal way" or "eternal law." Followers of Sanatana Dharma generally refer to themselves as Sanatani.
