Row Erupts Over Udayanidhi’s ‘Sanatana Dharma Like Malaria’ Remark: BJP Slams Stalin’s Son, DMK Leader Defends Comment – News18

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday lambasted Udhayanidhi Stalin for his “genocidal call” after the DMK leader’s “Sanatana Dharma is like malaria and dengue” comment snowballed into a massive controversy. The controversy deepened in the morning after Congress’ Karti Chidambaram seemed to “support” Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin’s son.

While BJP left no stone unturned to attack Udhayanidhi for “ranting out his frustration”, the leader however remained undeterred and said that he is “ready to face any legal challenge but will not be cowed down by usual saffron threats”

“Bring it on. I am ready to face any legal challenge. We will not be cowed down by such usual saffron threats. We, the followers of Periyar, Anna, and Kalaignar, would fight forever to uphold social justice and establish an egalitarian society under the able guidance of our honourable CM,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Tagging his father-CM MK Stalin, Udhayanidhi further wrote, “I will say it today, tomorrow, and forever: Our resolve to stop Sanathana Dharma from the Dravidian land would not reduce even a bit.”

When did the controversy Erupt?

The controversy erupted on Saturday, September 2, when Udhayanidhi was speaking at ‘Sanatana Abolition Conference’. Addressing the audience, he said, “There are some things which we have to eradicate and we can’t merely oppose. Mosquitoes, dengue fever, malaria, corona, all these are things which we cannot oppose, we have to eradicate them. Sanatanam is also like this.”

“I thank the organisers for giving me the opportunity to speak at this conference to eradicate Sanatana Dharma. I congratulate the organisers for calling the conference as ‘eradicate Sanatana Dharma’ instead of ‘opposing Sanatana Dharma,” he said. A video clip of his speech was widely shared on X.

MK Stalin’s son further said, “Eradicating and not opposing Sanatanam should be our first task. What is Sanatanam? The name Sanatanam comes from Sanskrit. Sanatanam is against equality and social justice. The meaning of Sanatanam is nothing but ‘permanence’, something which cannot be changed. Nobody can question. This is the meaning of Sanatana.”

As his speech drew outrage, Udhayanidhi clarified that “never called for the genocide” of people who are following Sanatan Dharma, but added that “Sanatan Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion”.

Reactions from the BJP

• Hitting out at Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said that Udhayanidhi was “calling for the genocide of 80 per cent of the population”.

“Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, and a minister in the DMK government, has linked Sanatana dharma to malaria and dengue. He is of the opinion that it must be eradicated and not merely opposed. In short, he is calling for the genocide of 80 per cent population of Bharat, who follow Sanatana dharma. DMK is a prominent member of the Opposition block and a long-standing ally of the Congress. Is this what was agreed in the Mumbai meet?” Amit Malviya wrote on X.

• BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla too said that it is a “genocidal call, supported by Karti Chidambaram of the Congress party”

• Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai lashed out at the DMK leader and said that the Stalin family’s idealogue has “bought-out idea from Christian missionaries”. “And the idea of those missionaries was to cultivate dimwits like you to parrot their malicious ideology,” he added.

“The only resolve that the Gopalapuram Family has is to accumulate wealth beyond the State GDP. Thiru @Udhaystalin, you, your father, or his or your idealogue have a bought-out idea from Christian missionaries & the idea of those missionaries was to cultivate dimwits like you to parrot their malicious ideology. Tamil Nadu is a land of spiritualism. The best you can do is to hold a Mic in an event like this & rant out your frustration! (sic),” Annamalai wrote on X.

• Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar slammed Stalin family’s “dynastic politics” and said that “as a cover for their corruption and parasitic behavior, they create narratives like “Protecting Dravidian Land”.

Congress’ Stand

• Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said, “Congress’ stand is clear, we do not want to comment on any religion or to hurt anyone’s sentiments.”

• Karti P Chidambaram, however, seems to support Udhayanidhi. He said that in common parlance of Tamil Nadu, “Sanathana Dharma means Caste Hierarchical Society”. “Why is that everyone who is batting for Sanathan Dharma comes from the privileged segment who are beneficiaries of the hierarchy. There was no call for ‘genocide’ against anyone, this is a mischievous spin,” Karti said.