Chennai/New Delhi, Sep 7: Adding fuel to the raging debate over DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks against Sanatan Dharma, the party’s Lok Sabha MP A Raja has likened it to diseases like leprosy and HIV which had social stigma, prompting the BJP to accuse opposition leaders of suffering from “deep-rooted Hinduphobia”.
As the row over Raja and Stalin junior’s remarks snowballed into a major political row on Thursday, the Congress sought to distance itself from their statements while Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin accused the BJP of being ‘desperate’ to create divisions in the INDIA opposition bloc.
Raja, a former union minister, defended Udhayanidhi, saying his remarks were “mild and soft.” “If Sanatan Dharma should be commented in disgusting terms; once upon a time the leprosy and recently the HIV had stigma and as far as we are concerned, it (Sanatan) should be regarded like HIV and leprosy that had social stigma,” the DMK’s Deputy General Secretary said at a public event in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
“Udhayanidhi’s comments were mild and soft and if you ask me I will talk tough.” Under intense attack, Udhayanidhi accused the BJP leaders of “twisting” his statements made at a writers’ conference in Chennai last week over the issue.
The DMK Youth Wing chief, who is the state minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development, vowed to face all cases in this connection legally.
In a strong response to Raja’s remarks, BJP leader and union minister Dharmendra Pradhan called the comments as “outrageous and vitriolic” and slammed the opposition parties for their “mental bankruptcy” and “deep-rooted Hinduphobia”.
Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad charged the Congress’ top leadership with maintaining “silence” over controversial remarks about Hindu faith made by some of its own leaders and those of its Tamil Nadu ally DMK.
Addressing a press conference in Patna, Prasad asked whether “a decision was taken to denigrate Hindus” at the recently held meeting of the opposition coalition INDIA in Mumbai. Referring to Udhayanidhi’s likening of ‘Sanatana Dharma’ to malaria and dengue and the DMK leader’s remark that it should be eradicated, Prasad said, “Now another DMK leader A Raja has compared the Hindu faith to leprosy and HIV/AIDS”. Asserting that the BJP will “never accept such denigration of the Hindu faith”, Prasad said “the silence of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the movers and shakers of the Congress, baffles the people” Union minister Pradhan, in a post on X, said “Changing name does not conceal one’s intent and character.” “Outrageous and vitriolic comments about Sanatan Dharma, this time by … A Raja, reflect the mental bankruptcy and deep-rooted Hinduphobia that engulfs the I.N.D.I.A bloc,” he noted.
Stoutly defending Sanatan Dharma, Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai dubbed the ruling DMK as a casteist party that must be decimated and questioned its track record on Dalit empowerment.
“If something needs eradication from Tamil Nadu, it is the DMK. D – Dengue, M – Malaria K – Kosu (mosquito). Going forward, we are sure that people will associate these deadly diseases with DMK,” he said posting a video on X.
Distancing itself, the Congress said it did not agree with the remarks of DMK leaders Udhayanidhi Stalin and A Raja on Sanatan Dharma and asserted the party believed in “sarvadharma sambhav” (equal respect to all religions).
The principal opposition party also asserted that every single member of the INDIA alliance has immense respect for all faiths, communities and beliefs. “The Congress has always believed in ‘sarvadharma sambhav’ wherein every religion, every faith has its space. No one can treat any particular faith as less than another faith.” “Neither the Constitution allows this nor the Indian National Congress believes in any of these comments,” Congress’ media and publicity department head Pawan Khera told a press conference at the AICC headquarters in Delhi. (PTI)
