Stalin's son Udhayanidhi slammed over Sanatana Dharma remarks: 'Spoiled brat’. Who said what
Udhayanidhi Stalin, who holds the portfolio of Sports and Youth Affairs in Tamil Nadu government, invited criticism for his remarks on Sanatan Dharma.
Udhayanidhi Stalin, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin's son and state minister, triggered a political row Saturday by equating 'Sanatana' (Sanatan Dharma) with "mosquitoes, Dengue, Malaria, fever and Corona", adding that it should be eradicated like these ailments.
Sanatan Dharma has been defined as an “eternal” religion, which will always be relevant and gives the people of Hindu faith, the freedom to choose any god of their choice, according to the Isha Foundation. ISKON explains Sanatan Dharma as a set of religious duties incumbent upon all Hindus. It says it is transcendental in nature and goes beyond temporary belief systems.
Also Read| Hindu religious leaders react to Udhayanidhi Stalin's 'Sanatan Dharma' remark: 'For 1000 years…'
Udhayanidhi, who holds the portfolio of Sports and Youth Affairs, made the remarks during a conference, inviting sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party has defended its leader saying his statement was “twisted”; several leaders of the INDIA or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, the Opposition bloc of which DMK is also an ally, said leaders should refrain from making such comments.
NDA, INDIA leaders react:
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar: "He is commenting on 'Sanatana Dharma', Hinduism without any worry of any response. Because he believes that his money, wealth and dynastic position put him in a situation where he can insult thousands of Indians and people from Tamil Nadu. Udhayanidhi Stalin is a classic example of a spoiled brat, a person who has not done one day's honest work in his life, talking about something that is so important and of faith.”
Also Read | SC lawyer files complaint against Udhayanidhi Stalin over ‘Sanatana’ remark, seeks FIR
BJP Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla: "...This is nothing less than a genocidal call and it has been supported by Karti Chidambaram of the Congress party... The question is, "Is this 'Mohabbat ki dukaan or is this Nafrat ke bhaijaan'?...This is the long pattern of 'Sanatana Virodh'..."
Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai: "...If you have to eradicate 'Sanatana Dharma', you have to finish off all the temples and people's essential religious practices...The word 'Sanatana Dharma' was there even before the Christian religion or Islamic religion came. 'Sanatana Dharma' means eternal, timeless dharma. It has been there for a long long time...What Udhayanidhi spoke yesterday should be condemned by the 142 crore people of the country because hatred for a particular religion came out yesterday. He was reading the speech from a text, which was consciously prepared. The eradication of a particular culture is called genocide... Who is Udhayanidhi Stalin to abolish 'Sanatana Dharma'?...”
Congress leader Acharya Pramod: "There is a competition among leaders to abuse Hindus. For 1000 years there have been efforts to erase 'Sanatan dharma'. No one could erase it..."
Congress leader Rashid Alvi: "This country is known to respect all religions. Our Constitution is secular because people from various religions stay in our country so that the country can remain united, but in the last 9 years, BJP has politicised religion and this is the reason why anyone comes up and says anything about religion. The person who said this is wrong but the leaders of BJP are responsible for politicising religion."
UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya: “The people who dissolve venom in the social harmony of the nation will get nothing out of it...Political leaders should abstain from making religious remarks...This is an unsuccessful attempt to create malevolence in the community. I condemn this.”
Rajya Sabha MP and RJD leader Manoj Jha: “Main samajhta hoon ki kabhi-kabhi hum logo ko prateek muhavaro ke andar jaakar ke sochna hoga...(I understand that sometimes we need to delve into symbolic expressions).”
AAP Leader Sanjay Singh: “...There are different religions, castes and languages in India. It's our beauty that despite this we live together...On Udhayanidhi 's statement, I just want to say that in India we should respect every religion and no one should make a comment on another's religion.”
Udhayanidhi clarifies; DMK defends
Meanwhile, as the row escalated, the DMK Joint Secretary and Spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai defended Udhayanidhi's remarks saying "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. 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 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..."
Udayanidhi, on late Saturday night, posted on X clarifying that he had not called for "genocide". "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…," he wrote in a message on X.
(All quotes attributed to news agency ANI)
