On Monday, the Madras High Court denied permission to hold any meeting to “eradicate Dravidian ideology” and also rebuked the Tamil Nadu police for their failure to take action against some DMK ministers who had taken part in an anti-Sanatana Dharma meeting in September. Justice G Jayachandran stated that the police’s failure to take action against those who gave inflammatory speeches was a dereliction of duty.
The court further added, “This Court is of the view that persons in power should realise the danger of speech unflaring fissiparous tendency and behave responsibly and restrain themselves from propagating views which will divide people in the name of ideology, caste and religion. Instead, they may concentrate on eradicating intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious to health, corruption untouchability and other social evil.”
According to Livelaw, the court was hearing a case by a man who sought permission to conduct an indoor meeting eradicating “Dravidian” and coordinating “Tamizhan”, when these observations were made.
DMK minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, at a press conference on Monday, said he will not back down from his earlier statement on Sanatana Dharma. He told the media, “I stand strong with my statement on Sanatana Dharma. I won’t back down from my statement. I will face it legally. I didn’t speak beyond what Ambedkar and Periyar have spoken”.
Udhayanidhi said he believed it was important to be “human first” and the positions he holds in government don’t mean much to him. “Today, the position of the minister, MLA and Youth Wing Secretary will be there and tomorrow it may not be there. More than all this, we have to be humans first”, he emphasized.
In September at a meeting in Chennai, Udhayanidhi Stalin had said that Sanatana Dharma should be eradicated. His statement was denounced by many politicians and political parties.