DMK minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, the son of Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin, drew the ire of the BJP on Saturday after his remarks on "eradicating Sanatana Dharma" triggered a row. The minister, however, struck to his stance, saying he will not be "cowed down by saffron threats."
Udhayanidhi, while addressing a conference organised in Chennai by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Artists Association on 'Eradication of Sanatana', said Sanatana was against the idea of social justice and that it had to be eradicated.
"I thank the organisers of this conference for allowing me to deliver a special address. You have kept the name of the conference as 'Sanatana Abolition Conference' rather than 'Anti-Sanatana Conference', I appreciate that," news agency ANI quoted Udhayanidhi as saying.
"A 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 than opposing Sanatana, it should be eradicated," Udhayanidhi added.
However, his comment drew backlash from the BJP and a section of people on social media.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya hit out at the DMK minister, alleging that "he was calling for genocide of 80% population of Bharat, who follow Sanatan Dharma." Udhayanidhi struck back at Malviya, stating "he never called for the genocide of people who are following Sanatan Dharma" and urged the former to "stop spreading fake news."
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai also accused Udhayanidhi of peddling a "bought-out idea from Christian missionaries". Annamalai took to his official handle on X to post: "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 ******* like you to parrot their malicious ideology."
However, Udhayanidhi remained undaunted and said he was ready to face any legal challenge. "Bring it on. I am ready to face any legal challenge. We will not be cowed down by such usual saffron threats. We, the followers of Periyar, Anna, and Kalaignar, would fight forever to uphold social justice and establish an egalitarian society under the able guidance of our CM MK Stalin. I will say it today, tomorrow, and forever: Our resolve to stop Sanathana Dharma from the Dravidian land would not reduce even a bit," the minister posted on X.