A day after making a controversial statement on Sanatan Dharma, Tamil Nadu minister and son of CM MK Stalin, Udhayanidhi Stalin, took to X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) and posted that he stood by his comments on Sanatan Dharma. Keeping up his tirade against Sanatan Dharma, the DMK leader said that though he "never called for genocide of people who are following Sanatan Dharma," as alleged by BJP national spokesperson Amit Malviya, "Sanatan Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion". He further said in his post: "Uprooting Sanatan Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality. I stand firmly by every word I have spoken." On Saturday (September 3), speaking at an event in Chennai, the Tamil Nadu minister kicked up a storm for his comments on Sanatan Dharma in which he equated Sanatan Dharma with diseases like "malaria, dengue or corona" and said that Sanatan Dharma must not only be opposed but also abolished.
Justifying his remarks, Udhayanidhi said in his post: "I spoke on behalf of the oppressed & marginalized, who suffer due to the Sanatan Dharma. I am ready to present the extensive writings of Periyar and Ambedkar, who conducted in-depth research on Sanatan Dharma and its negative impact on society in any forum."
He also repeated the controversial part of his speech in the post on X and said, "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. I am prepared to confront any challenges that come my way, whether in a court of law or the people's court. Stop spreading fake news."
Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks on Sanatan Dharma
On Saturday (September 2), addressing a conference organised in Chennai by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Artists Association on the subject "Eradication of Sanatana", Udhayanidhi Stalin eqauated Sanatan Dharma with "dengue, mosquitoes, malaria and corona," and said, "few things cannot be opposed, those 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. The name Sanatana is from Sanskrit. It is against social justice and equality."
The BJP came down heavily on Stalin for his remarks and BJP national spokesperson Amit Malaviya took to X and opposed Stalin's remarks.
