How Udhayanidhi Stalin's ‘Sanatana Dharma’ remark divided INDIA
The Congress, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and AAP, which are part of the Opposition INDIA bloc, distanced themselves from Udhayanidhi Stalin.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party has slammed Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin for his “Sanatana Dharma” comments and questioned Rahul Ganghi's stand, the Opposition seems to be divided over the controversy.
The Congress, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Aam Aadmi Party, which are part of the Opposition INDIA bloc, distanced themselves from the DMK leader, who had likened Sanatan Dharma to coronavirus, malaria and dengue and had said such things should not be opposed but destroyed.
On Monday, the TMC condemned the remarks of Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin's son, and said the Opposition bloc had no connection with such comments.
"We condemn such remarks. Harmony is our culture. We have to respect other religions. The I.N.D.I.A. bloc has no connection with such comments. Whoever he may be, if anyone says something like this, we should condemn such statements," TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.
TMC supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, without naming anyone, said people should not comment on anything that may hurt the religious sentiments of the people adding that she respects Sanatan Dharma.
"I have great regard for the people of Tamil Nadu. But my humble request to them, every religion has its separate sentiments. India is a secular country, it is a democratic country and at the same time, unity in diversity is our origin. So, I respect Sanatan Dharma. We go to temples, mosques, churches everywhere. We should not be involved in any matter which may hurt any section," Banerjee said.
"Instead of saying 'condemn', my humble request to everybody is that we should not comment on anything which may hurt the major section or the small section. We have to remember unity in diversity," she added.
Congress leader Karan Singh strongly objected to the DMK leader's comments saying it is “most unfortunate and totally unacceptable”.
Terming the comments preposterous, Karan Singh said that crores of people in India “follow a lesser or greater extent the tenets of Sanatan Dharma”.
At a press conference held in Delhi, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal was the first Congress leader to speak on Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi's remark and said the party believes in “Sarva Dharma Samabhava” and respects everyone's belief.
"Our view is clear: 'Sarva Dharma Samabhava' is the Congress' ideology. Every political party has the freedom to express their views. We are respecting everybody's beliefs," said Venugopal.
Reacting to the controversy, Karnataka minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge, who is also the son of party president Mallikarjun Kharge, said any religion that does not give equal rights is not a religion and "is as good as a disease".
"Any religion that does not promote equality, any religion that doesn't ensure that you have the dignity of being a human being is not a religion, according to me. So it is as good as a disease," Priyank said.
Hitting out at the BJP, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi accused it of showing "fake concern" over Sanatan Dharma for its politics and called it hypocrisy.
"Sanatan Dharma stands for eternal truth - the way to live life- the conscience & being. Sanatanis have long withstood attacks by invaders to end their identity yet they have not just survived but thrived. The country's bedrock, which is linked to Sanatan Dharm, has been inclusiveness of all faiths and identities. Anyone making derogatory comments against it is ignorant of what it stands for," she said on X.
"Also, the fake concern shown by BJP over Sanatan Dharma for their politics exposes their sick hypocrisy while they are brutally lathi charging sanatanis who are fighting for their rights in Maharashtra...," she said.
Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya said the BJP is marketing the word 'Sanatan' and they are playing with the sentiments of the people in the name of religion.
Union ministers slam Opposition
Several Union ministers, including Rajnath Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Prahlad Patel, Dharmendra Pradhan and Anurag Thakur took on the opposition alliance and asked it not to play with Hindu sentiments.
Rajnath Singh hit out at the opposition over the comments, wondering why Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Ashok Gehlot are "silent" on the issue.
Addressing a public meeting at Ramdevra in Jaisalmer on the launch of the third round of the BJP's Parivartan Yatra in Rajasthan, he said the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a part of the INDIA bloc, has hurt Sanatan Dharma and the Congress leaders are "silent" on the issue.
"What Udhayanidhi Stalin has said is shocking and shameful", former Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said, noting that the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has repeated his remarks.
Prasad also attacked Congress MP Karti Chidambaram for supporting Udhayanidhi.
"Why are opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee silent? Are you playing with Hindu sentiments for votes? They should know that hundreds of years of Islamic rule could not exterminate Sanatan Dharma and British imperialism could not dilute it," Prasad told reporters.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is a declared Sanatani, he added.
Thakur alleged that the INDIA alliance was stooping to "politics of polarisation".
(With inputs from agencies)
