VHP leader hits out at Udhayanidhi over ‘Sanatan’ rant

DMK leader and minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s tirade against Sanatan Dharma was denounced by senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Vijay Shankar Tiwari on Sunday. He said that people like him need to get rid of their “colonial mindset.” Speaking at a conference on Saturday, Udhayanidhi, the Tamil Nadu government’s minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, compared “Sanatana” (Sanatan Dharma) to “mosquitoes, Dengue, Malaria, fever, and Corona,” adding that it should be eradicated like these diseases.

VHP central joint secretary, said, “Such people should get out of their colonial mindset. ‘Sanatana’ means one which is eternal. It has grown through the ages and will continue to evolve.”
Railing against Sanatan Dharma in Chennai on Saturday, Udhayanidhi said, “Few things cannot be opposed, they should only be abolished. We can’t oppose Dengue, mosquitoes, Malaria, or Corona, we have to eradicate them. In the same way, we have to eradicate Sanatana (Sanatan Dharma). Rather than merely opposing Sanatana, it should be eradicated.”

Hindu Mahasabha President Swami Chakrapani responded angrily, bringing the Opposition alliance, INDIA, into the debate, claiming that “Sanatana Dharma” has been practiced for centuries and will continue to do so in the hearts and minds of its adherents. The INDIA bloc’s leaders are engaged in a conflict not only with Prime Minister Narendra Modi but also with Sanatana Dharma itself. Their goal is to eradicate our Sanatana Dharma. We never criticize Udhayanidhi’s political views or ideologies. We make no remarks about Islam or Christianity. Why then are they focusing on “Hindu Sanatana”?

Spiritual leader Ravindrapuri, president of Akhada Parishad, Haridwar, demanded that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Udhayanidhi’s father, MK Stalin, remove him from the cabinet in light of his remarks.