MK Stalin’s son wants Sanatana Dharma to be ‘eradicated’, BJP reacts

New Delhi: Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Chief Minister MK Stalin, on Saturday landed in trouble after comparing Sanatana Dharma with infectious disease like dengue and malaria.

Udhayanidhi has since been in the eye of a storm when he said Sanatana Dharma must be ‘eradicated’.

‘Sanatana is like malaria and dengue and so it must be eradicated and not opposed,’ he was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.

He faced scathing attack on social media with many pressing for filing a case against the minister, NDTV reported.

BJP leader Amit Malviya reacted to the minister’s comment with a post on X saying ‘Rahul Gandhi speaks of 'mohabbat ki dukaan' but Congress ally DMK's scion talks about eradicating Sanatana Dharma.’

Malviya further added that ‘Congress's silence is support for this genocidal call. INDIA Alliance, true to its name, if given an opportunity, will annihilate the millennia-old civilisation that is Bharat.’

Addressing a writers’ conference in Chennai, Udhayanidhi Stalin said rather than simply opposing Sanatana Dharma, it must be eradicated, arguing that the idea is ‘inherently regressive’.

He alleged that it divides people on the basis of caste and gender, as it is opposed to equality and social justice.

Following Malviya's tweet, Stalin said he stands by firmly everything he said, adding he never called for genocide of people who follow Sanatana Dharma but said it divides people in the name of ‘caste and religion’.

‘Uprooting Sanatana Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality. I stand firmly by every word I have spoken. I spoke on behalf of the oppressed and marginalized, who suffer due to the Sanatana Dharma’, he said.

Stalin offered to expand on his line of thinking by presenting what he said ‘ extensive writings of Periyar and Ambedkar’.

‘ 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 Sanatana Dharma is responsible for many social evils,’, he was quoted as saying.

In the face of mounting criticism, Stalin said he is ‘ prepared to confront any challenges’ be it in a court of law or the people’s court, while urging to stop spreading ‘fake news’.

Meanwhile, the state BJP president K Annamalai alleged that Udhayanidhi Stalin and Chief Minister MK Stalin echoed the ideas of Christian missionaries.