Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK minister and son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, on September 2 called for the “eradication’ of the Sanatan Dharma” and equated it with diseases like dengue and malaria, inviting sharp criticism from BJP leaders.
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya slammed Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin for his remarks and said that the Minister was calling for “genocide of 80% population of Bharat, who follow Sanatan Dharma.”
“Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Tamilnadu CM MK Stalin, and a Minister in the DMK Gov’t, 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,” Mr. Malviya posted in a message on X (formerly Twitter).
He also attacked the Congress-led INDIA alliance on the issue.
Posting a video of Mr. Stalin’s speech, he said, “Rahul Gandhi speaks of Mohabbat ki Dukaan [shop of love] but Congress ally DMK’s scion talks about eradicating Sanatana Dharma. Congress’s silence is support for this genocidal call… INDIA Alliance, true to its name, if given an opportunity, will annihilate the millennia-old civilisation that is Bharat.”
Meanwhile, the BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief K. Annamalai accused Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin of peddling a “bought-out idea from Christian missionaries”.
Mr. Annamalai wrote on X, “The only resolve that the Gopalapuram Family has is to accumulate wealth beyond the State GDP. Thiru @Udhaystalin, 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. (sic)“
“Tamil Nadu is a land of spiritualism. The best you can do is hold a Mic at an event like this and rant out your frustration!” the BJP State chief added.
BJP Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also took a potshot at Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin and termed his remark a “genocidal call”.
“Once again, the INDIA alliance has shown its true face, ‘Bharat Virodhi face’, the ‘Hindu Virodhi face’. This is nothing less than a genocidal call, and it has been supported by Karti Chidambaram of the Congress party,” he said.
Earlier on September 2, Mr. Stalin while speaking in a conference organised in Chennai by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Artists Association said, “Sanatana is like malaria and dengue and so it must be eradicated and not simply opposed.”
He further added, “Few things cannot be opposed, that should be abolished only. We can’t oppose Dengue, Mosquitoes, Malaria, or Corona, we have to eradicate this that’s how we have to eradicate Sanatana. Rather opposing Sanatana it should be eradicated.”
(With inputs from ANI)
