Udhayanidhi’s remarks on Sanathana Dharma puts him in BJP’s direct line of fire

DMK youth wing chief and Tamil Nadu Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s call for “eradication” of Sanathana Dharma from the society, billing it as being responsible for many “social evils”, has triggered a major row with the BJP pouncing on his statement, terming it as a “call for genocide” and branding the Opposition alliance as “anti-Hindu”.

From Amit Shah to J P Nadda to K Annamalai – the BJP top brass both at the national and state level – tore into the young DMK scion for his remarks and sought to know whether this was the stand of the I.N.D.I.A. alliance grouping, even as Udhayanidhi asserted that he stood firmly by every word he had spoken.

Speaking at a conference on ‘Eradicating Sanathana Dharma From the Society’ here on Saturday organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers, Artists Association, Udhayanidhi said Sanathana Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion and uprooting it will only lead to upholding humanity and human equality.

“The conference’s title is apt. I appreciate them for calling for eradication of Sanathana and not merely oppose it. For instance, mosquitoes, Dengue, Malaria, and Corona, we should eradicate these, and not just oppose. Likewise, Sanathana should also be eradicated from the society. It is not enough if we merely oppose it,” Udhayanidhi told the event.

The word Sanathanam was derived from Sanskrit and it is against equality and social justice, the Sports Minister added. Udhayanidhi, son of Chief Minister M K Stalin, is one of the powerful ministers in the DMK and is being touted as the party’s future by his supporters.

While Congress leaders in New Delhi took an ambivalent stand on the issue, their counterparts in Tamil Nadu stood behind Udhayanidhi, saying they saw nothing wrong in his statement.

Addressing an rally in Rajasthan, Shah said the leaders of I.N.D.I.A. alliance have been insult Sanatana Dharma for the past few days and singled out the DMK for indulging in “vote bank” politics. “This is not the first time they have insulted our Sanatana Dharma,” Shah added.

Speaking in Madhya Pradesh, Nadda attacked Udhayanidhi for comparing Sanatana Dharma with Dengue. “Is Udhayanidhi's statement a part of the I.N.D.I.A. alliance's political strategy? Are you going to use this anti-Hindu strategy in the upcoming elections?” he asked.

BJP I-T wing chief Amit Malviya was the first to oppose Udhayanidhi’s statement by posting a short video clip of the DMK leader’s speech and sought to know whether this was agreed at the I.N.D.I.A. meeting in Mumbai on September 1.

“Udhayanidhi 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,” Malviya wrote on X platform. “DMK is a prominent member of the Opposition block and a long standing ally of the Congress. Is this what was agreed in the Mumbai meet?” he asked.

In his response, Udhayanidhi said he never called for the genocide of people who are following Sanatan Dharma, but said he stands firmly by every word he had spoken.

“I spoke on behalf of the oppressed & marginalized, who suffer due to the Sanatan Dharma…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,” he added.

Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai also criticised Udhayanidhi, saying the state is a land of spiritualism and the best he can do is to hold a microphone in an event and rant his “frustration”.

“The only resolve that the Gopalapuram Family has is to accumulate wealth beyond the State GDP. 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,” he said.

To another tweet on X, Udhayanidhi said he was prepared to confront any challenges that came his way, whether in a court of law or the people's court.

“Stop spreading fake news. Bring it on. I am ready to face any legal challenge…I will say it today, tomorrow, and forever: Our resolve to stop Sanathana Dharma from the Dravidian land would not reduce even a bit,” he added.