Days after the INDIA Opposition bloc’s ambitious meeting ahead of the crucial Assembly elections in the Hindi heartland of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh amongst others, the remarks by the DMK in Tamil Nadu that ‘Sanatan Dharma must be eradicated’ have given enough fuel to the BJP and simultaneously shaken up the Opposition consolidation in which the DMK is a major stakeholder.
On Monday, several Union Ministers as well as the BJP intensified its attack on the Opposition over DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks, asking the Congress if the INDIA bloc had met in Mumbai to target the religion and stressed that they should not play with Hindu sentiments. Stalin has rubbished the genocidal claim and said his speech had pointed to social evils. The BJP also sought to know why the top leaders from the coalition — Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Nitish Kumar, Sharad Pawar, Arvind Kejriwal — were silent on the issue that has hurt billions of people owing allegiance to the ancient religion of the universe. Another major constituent of the India alliance, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), too differed from the DMK and said, “India is a country that believes in unity in diversity.”
However, Stalin’s critical remark got affirmation from his alliance colleagues, Congress leader and a Minister in Karnataka, Priyank Kharge who is also son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram, son of former Home Minister P Chidambaram.
While Priyank said any religion that does not give equal rights is not a religion and “is as good as a disease”, Karti said Sanatan promotes caste and division which is not good. Amid different voices within the Congress and the INDIA bloc, the grand old party in its official statement said it respects all religions and stressed that others also have the freedom to express their views.
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal hit out at the Opposition parties and asked the Congress if the INDIA bloc had met in Mumbai to finalise its agenda against Sanatan Dharma and how to finish it off across the country. Another Union Minister Prahlad Patel alleged that the attack on Sanatan Dharma was part of a conspiracy hatched during the Opposition parties’ meeting in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the leaders of the ‘ghamandia gathbandhan (arrogant alliance)’ seem to be competing with each other to “abuse Indian civilisation, its core belief and the Hindu dharma”. Pradhan also recalled as a how before 2014 the Congress and Opposition parties mentioned “saffron terrorism” though none had till that time ever referred to “pink, blue or magenta terrorism”. Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recalled how the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared that he is a Sanatani.
In his address at a meeting of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association in Chennai on Saturday, State Youth Welfare Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin alleged that ‘Sanatan Dharma’ is against equality and social justice, and that it should be eradicated. Likening Sanatan Dharma to coronavirus, malaria and dengue, Udhayanidhi said such things should not be opposed but destroyed.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said while the Congress’ stand is clear, every other political party has the freedom to express its own view. “Actually, our view is very clear - ‘Sarvadharma Sambhav’ (equal respect to all religions) is the Congress ideology. But, you have to understand that every political party has its own freedom to state their views,” he said. “We respect everybody’s beliefs,” the Congress leader said in a way supporting the DMK. Congress leader and former Union Minister Karan Singh, however, termed the DMK leader’s statement as “preposterous” and “most unfortunate”. “Crores of people in this country follow, to a lesser or greater extent the tenets of Sanatan Dharma. Besides, the greatest Sanatan Dharma temples in the world are in Tamil Nadu — in Thanjavur, in Srirangam, in Thiruvannamalai, in Chidambaram, in Madurai, in Suchindram, in Rameshwaram and many more,” Singh said in a statement.
TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said every religion has separate sentiments and India is about unity in diversity. “I have high regards and respect for the people of Tamil Nadu and South India. But my humble request is respect all, as every religion has separate sentiments. India is a secular and democratic country,” she said.
About Stalin’s comment, Mamata termed him a junior leader who may not know about it. “From my side, I am not clear about why and on which grounds he has made his comments. I feel that each and every religion should be equally respected ... I respect Sanatan Dharma and we derive our learnings from the Vedas,” she added. Mamata said the West Bengal Government gives pension to Hindu priests. “We have so many temples across the country. We visit temples, mosques and churches. We should not be involved in any matter which might hurt a section of people,” she stressed.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on her part attacked the BJP, accusing it of showing “fake concern” over Sanatan Dharm for its politics and termed it as hypocrisy.