“Sanatana' row heats up as BJP sharpens attack

NEW DELHI/CHENNAI: The controversy around Tamil Nadu youth affairs and sports minister Udhaynidhi Stalin's remark on Saturday that "sanatana dharma should be eradicated", on which he doubled down Sunday, snowballed on Monday, with more leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party criticising his comments as an attack on Hinduism and a FIR being filed against him in Jharkhand.

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Stalin, son of Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, also came in for criticism from leaders of parties that are part of the INDIA alliance of which his Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a part, although these were mostly in their personal capacity. In a press conference, KC Venugopal of the Congress, made an anodyne statement about respecting everyone's beliefs and every political party's right to air its views.

Leaders of the DMK, and of some of its allies came out in support of Stalin, pointing out that the opposition of "sanatana dharma" is one of the foundational tenets of the Dravidian continued on movement from which the DMK and BJP-ally All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) were born.

The AIADMK has thus far not commented on the controversy.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters on Monday that everyone who was born in India is part of "sanatana" and any talk against it would be against India itself. "There is an attempt to dismantle Hinduism. He (Stalin) is trying to spread hate among Hindus; and leaders of the INDIA alliance have been speaking against Hindus. What he said was not slip of tongue but was well thought."

Several BJP leaders including BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant, Delhi BJP MPs Harshvardhan and Parvesh Sahib Singh sought an apology from Stalin and also his removal as minister from the Tamil Nadu government.

"I hope that the Supreme Court takes cognizance of his 'hate' speech," Trivedi said, claiming that the INDIA alliance was "anti-Hindu" and needs to be defeated.