Udhayanidhi's 'Sanatan Dharma Like Malaria' Remark Triggers Row; BJP Slams Stalin's Son, He Defends

The BJP on Sunday lambasted Udhayanidhi Stalin for his “genocidal call” after the DMK leader’s “Sanatana Dharma is like malaria and dengue” comment snowballed into a massive controversy. The row deepened in the morning after Congress leader Karti Chidambaram seemed to “support” Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son.

While BJP left no stone unturned to attack Udhayanidhi for “ranting out his frustration”, the leader, however, remained undeterred and said that he is “ready to face any legal challenge but will not be cowed down by usual saffron threats”

“Bring it on. I am ready to face any legal challenge. We will not be cowed down by such usual saffron threats. We, the followers of Periyar, Anna, and Kalaignar, would fight forever to uphold social justice and establish an egalitarian society under the able guidance of our honourable CM,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Tagging his father-CM MK Stalin, Udhayanidhi further wrote, “I will say it today, tomorrow, and forever: Our resolve to stop Sanathana Dharma from the Dravidian land would not reduce even a bit.”

Talking to the media later, Udhayanidhi said, “India as a whole is talking about Sanatana and still needs to talk. Some people are saying that I have said genocide. I just said that the doctrine of Sanatana should be abolished. Some people say that Dravidianism should be abolished, does that mean killing all DMK? The Dravidian principle is that everyone should have everything. The BJP is deliberately spreading fake news and to divert the success of the I.N.D.I.A alliance meet. Legal action will be taken against those spreading rumours.”

When did the controversy Erupt?

The controversy erupted on Saturday, September 2, when Udhayanidhi was speaking at ‘Sanatana Abolition Conference’. Addressing the audience, he said, “There are some things which we have to eradicate and we can’t merely oppose. Mosquitoes, dengue fever, malaria, corona, all these are things which we cannot oppose, we have to eradicate them. Sanatanam is also like this.”

“I thank the organisers for giving me the opportunity to speak at this conference to eradicate Sanatana Dharma. I congratulate the organisers for calling the conference as ‘eradicate Sanatana Dharma’ instead of ‘opposing Sanatana Dharma,” he said. A video clip of his speech was widely shared on X.

MK Stalin’s son further said, “Eradicating and not opposing Sanatanam should be our first task. What is Sanatanam? The name Sanatanam comes from Sanskrit. Sanatanam is against equality and social justice. The meaning of Sanatanam is nothing but ‘permanence’, something which cannot be changed. Nobody can question. This is the meaning of Sanatana.”

As his speech drew outrage, Udhayanidhi clarified that “never called for the genocide” of people who are following Sanatan Dharma, but added that “Sanatan Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion”.

Reactions from the BJP

• Hitting out at Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said that Udhayanidhi was “calling for the genocide of 80 per cent of the population”.

“Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, and a minister in the DMK government, has linked Sanatana dharma to malaria and dengue. He is of the opinion that it must be eradicated and not merely opposed. In short, he is calling for the genocide of 80 per cent population of Bharat, who follow Sanatana dharma. DMK is a prominent member of the Opposition block and a long-standing ally of the Congress. Is this what was agreed in the Mumbai meet?” Amit Malviya wrote on X.

• BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla too said that it is a “genocidal call, supported by Karti Chidambaram of the Congress party”

• Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai lashed out at the DMK leader and said that the Stalin family’s idealogue has “bought-out idea from Christian missionaries”. “And the idea of those missionaries was to cultivate dimwits like you to parrot their malicious ideology,” he added.

“The only resolve that the Gopalapuram Family has is to accumulate wealth beyond the State GDP. Thiru @Udhaystalin, you, your father, or his or your idealogue have a bought-out idea from Christian missionaries & the idea of those missionaries was to cultivate dimwits like you to parrot their malicious ideology. Tamil Nadu is a land of spiritualism. The best you can do is to hold a Mic in an event like this & rant out your frustration! (sic),” Annamalai wrote on X.

• Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar slammed Stalin family’s “dynastic politics” and said that “as a cover for their corruption and parasitic behavior, they create narratives like “Protecting Dravidian Land”.

• Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “The reality of some people in Tamil Nadu has now come out. Just a few days ago, we organised Kashi Tamil Sangamam and Lord Vishwanath is commemorated in every village in Tamil Nadu. ‘Sanatana’ is eternal, nothing is going to happen with these political remarks.”

• BJP’s Tamil Nadu vice president Narayanan Thirupathy said the ruling party (DMK) in the state was like a “cancer”, which will be treated through the principles of ‘Sanatana Dharma’.

“This is not new for the DMK. For them, good things are bad and bad things are good. ‘Sanatana Dharma’ is eternal. DMK is a communal party that survives on the votes of Muslims and Christians,” Thirupathy said. “The decision on which way the votes of these communities should go is decided at their places of worship. But the Hindus don’t vote like that. The DMK is like a cancer and will be treated through the principles of ‘Sanatana Dharma’,” he added in his video message on X.

Congress’ Stand

• Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said, “Congress’ stand is clear, we do not want to comment on any religion or to hurt anyone’s sentiments.”

• Karti P Chidambaram, however, seems to support Udhayanidhi. He said that in common parlance of Tamil Nadu, “Sanathana Dharma means Caste Hierarchical Society”. “Why is that everyone who is batting for Sanathan Dharma comes from the privileged segment who are beneficiaries of the hierarchy. There was no call for ‘genocide’ against anyone, this is a mischievous spin,” Karti said.

• Shehzad Poonawalla’s estranged brother Tehseen Poonawalla, who is a political analyst and known to be a Congress loyalist, criticised Karti Chidambaram for “defending” Stalin’s son. “I know you personally and you are a reasonable guy but what Udhaynidhi said is simply unacceptable,” he added.

• Congress leader Rashid Alvi said that BJP has politicised religion and “this is the reason why anyone comes up and says anything about religion”.

“The person who said this is wrong but the leaders of BJP are responsible for politicising religion,” Alvi added.