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Udhayanidhi Stalin responds to Pawan Kalyan's attack for ‘Sanatan Dharma’ remark: ‘Let’s wait and see'
“Sanatan Dharma cannot be wiped out,” Andhra Pradesh deputy CM Pawan Kalyan said on Thursday in remarks aimed at Udhayanidhi, his Tamil Nadu counterpart.
Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Friday reacted to a verbal attack on him by Pawan Kalyan, his counterpart from Andhra Pradesh, over the DMK leader's statement from last year on Sanatan Dharma that had triggered a huge controversy.
“Let's wait and see,” ANI quoted Udhayanidhi, son of DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, as saying.
Addressing a gathering at Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati on Thursday, amid the row over alleged adulteration of ‘laddus’ offered as ‘prasadam’ at the Tirupati temple, Kalyan mentioned how ‘Sanatan Dharma cannot be wiped out.’
While the Jana Sena boss did not name anyone, Udhayanidhi, in September last year, had called for the ‘eradication’ of Sanatan Dharma. He had also compared it to malaria, dengue, and even the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Kalyan, in his Tirupati speech, called for a ‘strong national act’ to ‘protect’ Sanatan Dharma.
“A strong national act is required to prevent actions that harm the beliefs of Sanatan Dharma. It should be enacted uniformly and immediately across Bharat (India),” the actor-politician said.
“A ‘Sanatan Dharma Protection Board’ should be established to oversee the implementation of this Act. Annual funds must be allocated to support this board and its activities,” he added.
Further, Kalyan called for a ‘non-cooperation movement’ against those ‘defaming' or ‘spreading hatred’ towards Sanatan Dharma.
“A ‘Sanatan Dharma Certification’ must be implemented to ensure the purity of materials used in offerings and prasadam at temples. I want to communicate to the highest judiciary that ‘he’ is not innocent,” the Andhra deputy CM stated.
The ‘he’ reference was probably for YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the ex-Andhra Pradesh chief minister. His successor N Chandrababu Naidu, the incumbent CM, was the first to speak about the alleged adulteration, saying it took place under Reddy's administration. Reddy has denied the charge.
