Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin on Wednesday suggested that his party tone down on the anti- Sanatan Dharma comments since it is being used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP as a “diversionary tactic”.
“While the Prime Minister remains silent on everyday issues impacting the common man, his cabinet focuses on Sanatana Dharma by spreading false narratives and fuelling it with support from a few media outlets,” Stalin said in a statement. “I urge our DMK leaders and cadre not to react to such diversion tactics and to continue posing questions to the BJP…” on the ethnic violence in Manipur, the corruption report on Adani, ₹ 7.50 lakh crore worth irregularities highlighted in the CAG report presented last month in the parliament and to highlight “failures” in the past 9 years of the BJP-led Union government.
The INDIA alliance of 28 parties which includes the DMK formed to oppose the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will “keep posting questions”, Stalin added.
The DMK chief’s message comes after his son and sports minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comments that ‘Sanatana dharma must be eradicated’ put the INDIA alliance partners such as the Congress, Shiv Sena and the Trinamool Congress on the defensive against the BJP that accused the entire group of being anti-Hindu. Though Udhayanidhi and DMK’s allies in Tamil Nadu backed him justifying that there is a difference between Sanatana dharma and Hinduism, the national leaders sought for all religions to be respected. Stalin had also earlier backed his son accusing Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah of twisting Udhayanidhi’s comments.
{{/usCountry}}The DMK chief’s message comes after his son and sports minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comments that ‘Sanatana dharma must be eradicated’ put the INDIA alliance partners such as the Congress, Shiv Sena and the Trinamool Congress on the defensive against the BJP that accused the entire group of being anti-Hindu. Though Udhayanidhi and DMK’s allies in Tamil Nadu backed him justifying that there is a difference between Sanatana dharma and Hinduism, the national leaders sought for all religions to be respected. Stalin had also earlier backed his son accusing Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah of twisting Udhayanidhi’s comments.
{{/usCountry}}But the issue further escalated after DMK MP A Raja said that Hinduism is a menace and higher education minister K Ponmudy said that the INDIA alliance was formed on a plank to oppose Sanatana dharma. BJP leaders have circulated their speeches in the past two days.
Reacting to Stalin’s statement, BJP Tamil Nadu state president K Annamalai countered that it was the DMK who was using the issue as a diversionary tactic since 11 of their ministers have corruption charges against them including V Senthil Balaji who has been jailed after the Enforcement Directorate arrested him on June 14 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. “The attack on Hindu Dharma by your son and your party men is a diversion to the above scams & we kindly request you stop embarrassing yourself by misquoting the CAG report just by relying on a piece of paper in your hand,” Annamalai said.