The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has strongly criticized DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin for his recent comments regarding the Sanatan Dharma, the core teachings of Hinduism. During a press conference in Chennai, Udhayanidhi, who serves as the Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs in the Tamil Nadu government and is the son of Chief Minister M K Stalin, made controversial remarks equating Sanatan Dharma with diseases like mosquitoes, dengue, malaria, and corona. He called for its “eradication” instead of opposition.
Annamalai, expressing his views on this matter on social media, accused Udhayanidhi of promoting an idea allegedly influenced by Christian missionaries. He claimed that the Gopalapuram Family’s primary goal was to accumulate wealth beyond the state’s GDP and criticized Udhayanidhi and his father for endorsing this ideology.
Furthermore, Annamalai suggested that Tamil Nadu is a region steeped in spiritualism, implying that Udhayanidhi’s comments were out of place and called for him to use his platform for more positive purposes.
Amit Malviya, the BJP IT cell chief, also condemned Udhayanidhi’s statements, asserting that the minister’s comments amounted to a call for the “genocide” of the 80% of the population in India who adhere to Sanatan Dharma. He shared a video of Udhayanidhi’s remarks to support his argument.
On the other hand, Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram disputed the accusation of advocating genocide against anyone. He explained that in Tamil Nadu, “Sanathana Dharma” is often associated with a caste-based hierarchical society, and he argued that those advocating for it usually belong to privileged segments benefiting from this hierarchy. He characterized the claim of “genocide” as a mischievous spin.
Udhayanidhi responded to Malviya’s accusations, labeling them as “fake news.” He clarified that he never called for the genocide of individuals practicing Sanatan Dharma. According to him, Sanatan Dharma is a set of principles that perpetuate social inequalities based on caste and religion. He maintained that uprooting Sanatan Dharma was a way to uphold human equality and promote humanity. He reiterated that his primary point was that Sanatan Dharma had contributed to various social issues, akin to the way diseases like COVID-19, dengue, and malaria spread through mosquitoes.