‘BJP twisted my words, magnified it’: Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sanatana Dharma row
DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, the BJP, of distorting and amplifying his remarks on ‘Sanatana Dharma’.
Speaking at a youth cadre meeting in Karur district on Sunday, Udhayanidhi Stalin responded to the uproar caused by his earlier statement, where he compared Sanatana Dharma to “mosquitoes, dengue, malaria, fever, and corona,” and called for its eradication.
Accusing Prime Minister Modi of misrepresenting his speech during election campaigning in Madhya Pradesh, Udhayanidhi Stalin said, “He said I have called for genocide, but he said things which I have not said. I attended a conference and spoke for three minutes. I said without any discrimination everyone should be treated equally; if not that discrimination should be eradicated but they have twisted it, magnified it and made the whole of India talk about me.”
Addressing the massive backlash he faced, the DMK leader said, “Some godman announced a bounty of Rs 5-10 crore. Currently, the case is going on in court and I have faith in the court. I was asked to apologise for my remarks, but I said I can’t apologise. I said that I am Stalin’s son, grandson of Kalaignar, and I was only espousing their ideology.”
In September, Udhayanidhi Stalin called for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma, as he said, it was “against social justice and equality”.
His remarks drew sharp criticism from the ruling BJP, with the party’s IT cell head Amit Malviya saying that Stalin’s statement was “eerily similar” to Hitler’s views about Jews.
The Madras High Court also came down hard on Udhayanidhi Stalin for his remarks and criticised the police for failing to take action against him in the matter. The High Court noted that no individual has the right to promote divisive ideas or the abolition of any ideology.
However, Udhayanidhi Stalin doubled down on his stance on Sanatana Dharma, saying that he would “oppose it forever”, and that he was willing to face legal consequences for his statement.