BENGALURU
The uncalled and unsavoury comment that “Sanatan Dharma is like dengue and malaria and we should erradicate it…” at a public function recently by Udhayanidhi Stalin, the scion of the DMK’s first family, has sparked off a nationwide debate and has drawn significant criticism from various quarters, including religious leaders, scholars, and political opponents.
Critics argue that Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comments lack sensitivity and understanding of the intricate aspects of Sanatana Dharma, a diverse and complex belief system that encompasses a wide range of beliefs, practices, and philosophies. While many in the newly stitched I.N.D.I.A bloc, including Congress, TMC, and Shiv Sena, have distanced themselves from the comments and have aired contrary views, Jr Stalin has found support from his father and party loyalist A. Raja, apart from a handful of politicians.
However, this issue has given much ammo to the BJP in Tamil Nadu BJP which is trying to make inroads in the state through the “En Mann En Makkal” campaign launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. BJP State president K. Annamalai was not the one to lose out on this opportunity and opened a full-scale attack on the DMK. He claimed Tamil Nadu Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s call to eradicate “Sanatan dharma” had eroded 5% of the vote share of the opposition-led I.N.D.IA bloc across the country. “He (Udhayanidhi) should continue to speak like this in the days to come so that this alliance will lose for sure at least 20% of its votes,” Annamalai contended while interacting with journalists at Thoothukudi airport en route to Tenkasi district to start his second leg of his “En Mann, En Makkal” roadshow.
According to him, people, who had backed the DMK in the previous elections, would never repeat it if Chief Minister M.K. Stalin dared to seek votes by highlighting his ‘achievements’ in the past two years. The Tamils had been hit hard by rampant corruption in all government departments, he alleged. Hence, Stalin was highlighting the Opposition’s electoral alliance, I.N.D.I.A, for fetching votes, which would eventually become the biggest failure, he believed. “Like Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who had to face the legal consequences for his comments on ‘Modi community’, Udhayanidhi will face the wrath of the people,” he said. He was of the view that the NDA would win more than 400 Lok Sabha seats next year.
He accused “DMK goondas” of methodically murdering the BJP functionaries. While a youth wing functionary was murdered in Palayamkottai, four members of a family including BJP worker Mohanraj of Palladam were hacked to death by drunkards.