Sanatana Dharma row: Plea in SC for FIR against Udhayanidhi Stalin, A Raja
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New Delhi: A plea has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking initiation of legal action against Udhayanidhi Stalin, Tamil Nadu Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development, and son of Chief Minister MK Stalin, over his controversial statements on 'Sanatan Dharma.'
The plea has been filed by Advocate Vineet Jindal who said that being a Hindu and a follower of Sanatan Dharma, his religious sentiments have been hurt by the remarks made by Udhayanidhi Stalin and that it amounts to hate speech.
The plea filed through advocate RK Choudhary, also seeks contempt action against the Delhi Police and Chennai Police for not complying with the Supreme Court's direction to register suo moto FIR in hate speech cases.
The plea said that the applicant had already filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Delhi Police seeking action against the DMK leader under penal provisions but the First Information Report (FIR) is yet to be registered.
The petition sought impleadment in the case of Shaheen Abdulla v. Union of India and Ors., where state governments and police authorities were directed by the Supreme Court to take suo motu action in hate speech cases without waiting for the lodging of formal complaints.
The top court had said that any delay on the part of the administration in taking action on ‘very serious issues’, will invite the court’s contempt as action is needed in order to preserve the secular character of the country.
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The plea alleged that Udhayanidhi Stalin’s action outraged religious feelings, insulted followers of Hindu religion and instigated enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion.
Earlier, a group of 262 eminent citizens, including former high court judges and bureaucrats and war veterans had written a letter to the Chief Justice of India requesting him to take suo moto cognizance of the alleged hate speech made by the Tamil Nadu minister.
The plea has also sought for registration of an FIR against A Raja, MP from Tamil Nadu and former Cabinet Minister, for his remarks against Sanatana Dharma. Raja on Thursday compared Sanatan Dharma to HIV and Leprosy.
Udhayanidhi Stalin, while speaking at a function in Tamil Nadu, had said that Sanatan Dharma should not just be opposed but must be eradicated like mosquitoes, dengue, malaria or corona.
He said that he stood by his remarks, saying that he would continue to repeat that Sanatana Dharma must be eradicated.
An FIR was registered in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur against Udhayanidhi Stalin and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's son Priyank Kharge for allegedly outraging religious feelings, police said on Wednesday.
While the Opposition parties have distanced themselves from Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks, the BJP has questioned the silence of the bloc on the issue, accusing the alliance of being against the Hindu religion.
The saffron party drew parallels between the DMK leader and Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
