I'll repeat it again, DMK leader says a day after uproar over 'sanatana dharma' remark
Chennai/IBNS: Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who is at the centre of a storm over his "sanatana dharma must be eradicated" remark, once again stated on Monday that he "will repeat the same thing again and again".
However, in his defence he said that the remark was only made to "condemn caste differences".
The clarifying comments by Stalin come amid apoplectic attacks by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose senior leaders have dismissed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's son as "Udhayanidhi Hitler" and slammed the opposition INDIA alliance as "anti-Hindu".
Continuing its attack against Congress and the INDIA alliance over the remarks on "Sanatan Dharma", the BJP on Monday said Congress has made it a policy to defame Hinduism and try to create a rift in the society.
Addressing a press conference at party headquarters in New Delhi, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that, "Congress is still following the British policy of divide and rule which is very dangerous to society."
Dharmendra Pradhan's remarks came after Congress leader KC Venugopal said that every political outfit "has the freedom to (express) their views" and that the Congress "respects everybody's beliefs."
The controversy erupted after Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said that "Sanatana Dharma is like malaria and dengue and so it must be eradicated and not opposed".
Dharmendra Pradhan alleged that "It is the political compulsion of the INDIA alliance to make such remarks which will pose a great threat to the unity of the nation."
"They are concerned about the unity of Sanatana-dharma and the narrative has been set to spread tension and hatred in the society," he said.
The Union Minister alleged that whatever they said in Mumbai was politically motivated and attacked Indians' religious beliefs.
He said abusing and cursing India's civilization has now become a competition among the leaders of the arrogant INDIA alliance.
Earlier in the day, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday asked why Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was silent over Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks over Sanatana Dharma, which have generated controversy in the last few days.
"It was this “arrogance” of the INDIA bloc that had earned it the label of a ‘ghamandiya’ alliance" he added.