Udhayanidhi Stalin’s ‘eradicate Sanatan Dharma’ remark sparks row; BJP hits out

Accusing Udhayanidhi of peddling a “bought-out idea from Christian missionaries,” Annamalai wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “The only resolve that the Gopalapuram Family has is to accumulate wealth beyond the State GDP. Thiru, Udhaystalin, you, your father, or his or your idealogue have a bought-out idea from Christian missionaries & the idea of those missionaries was to cultivate dimwits like you to parrot their malicious ideology. (sic)”

Further, Annamalai said, “Tamil Nadu is a land of spiritualism. The best you can do is to hold a Mic in an event like this & rant out your frustration!”

Call for ‘genocide’, says BJP’s Amit Malviya

In a similar vein, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya slammed Udhayanidhi for his remarks, saying that the minister was calling for “genocide of 80% population of Bharat, who follow Sanatan Dharma.”

Sharing a video of Udhayanidhi’s remarks, Malviya wrote on X, “Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Tamilnadu CM MK Stalin, and a minister in the DMK Govt, has linked Sanatana Dharma to malaria and dengue… He is of the opinion that it must be eradicated and not merely opposed. In short, he is calling for genocide of 80% population of Bharat, who follow Sanatan Dharma.”

Statement ‘twisted’, DMK defends

Backing Udhayanidhi, DMK Joint Secretary and Spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai said that the former’s statement has been “twisted” and “taken out of context.” Speaking to news agency ANI, Annadurai said, “Our leader Udhayanidhi’s statement has been twisted, taken out of context and the biggest fake news peddler has put out a tweet that Udhayanidhi Stalin asked for genocide.”

He continued, “If the Prime Minister says, ‘Congress Mukt Bharat,’ does he call for genocide? How can they say that Udhayanidhi Stalin has called for genocide? That is a fake news, that is hate speech. They have to be answerable to the law for bringing up fake news and driving hatred. When we say we want to do away with ‘Sanatana Dharma’ it means we want to do away with the rigid caste system… DMK is a party which fights for the SCs, STs and the OBCs, we fight for them… BJP is a party that only works for the upper-caste Hindus.”

Udhayanidhi, moreover, hit out at Malviya for “spreading fake news”, and said, “I never called for the genocide of people who are following Sanatan Dharma. Sanatan Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatan Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality.”

“Let me reiterate the crucial aspect of my speech: I believe, like the spread of diseases like COVID-19, Dengue, and Malaria by mosquitoes, that Sanatan Dharma is responsible for many social evils,” Udhayanidhi wrote.

Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram, meanwhile, stated “There was no call for ‘genocide’ against anyone, this is a mischievous spin.” Taking to X, Chidambaram wrote, “In the common parlance of TN “Sanathana Dharma” means Caste Hierarchical Society. Why is that everyone who is batting for “SD” comes from the privileged segment who are beneficiaries of the “Hierarchy” There was no call for “Genocide” against anyone, this is a mischievous spin. (sic)”

BJP hits out at INDIA alliance

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar hit out at the Opposition’s INDIA alliance bloc over Udhayanidhi’s remarks. He stated over X, “It must become a national mission – a mission for all Indians to rid our country and our politics of these shameless exploitative dynasty families of UPA/I.N.D.I.A… As a cover for their corruption and parasitic behaviour, they create narratives like “Protecting Dravidian Land” & abuse Hindu faith. (sic)”

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP and BJP leader Sushil Modi called Udayanidhi’s remarks “anti-national”, stating that the DMK leader should be “detained and jailed”.

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