Udhayanidhi Stalin
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: Sharing an undated video of people using a poster featuring his image as a doormat in a temple on his social media pages, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday said he only feels “sorry” for followers of right-wing organisations who “stand exposed” in the name of “insulting me.”
The video, which was apparently shot in 2023 immediately after Udhay’s remarks on annihilation of Sanatana Dharma created a major row, shows people walking out of the temple using the poster to clean their legs. It is learnt that the video began trending again after Udhay’s Andhra Pradesh counterpart Pawan Kalyan targeted him last week for his remarks on Sanatana Dharma.
“I only feel sorry for Sanghis (right-wing followers) whose political immaturity stands exposed. I only pity these people. If our ideological enemies are so angry with us (the DMK), I only treat this as an acknowledgment that I am on the right path of following Dravidian principles,” Udhay said.
The right-wing followers threw sandals at Dravidian legend E V R Periyar, insulted B R Ambedkar, and attacked C N Annadurai and M Karunanidhi, Udhay said, adding they spread canards against Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin.
“Our push for equality annoys them. Our victory is their inability to divide people in the name of religion. Let them trample my photo. We cannot clean their dirty brains; at least let their feet get cleaned,” the DCM said, and asked his supporters not to “respond angrily” to such videos.
Pawan Kalyan had last week said those who called for annihilation of Sanatana Dharma will be “wiped out”. “Let’s wait and see…Let’s wait and see,” Udhay had responded to the Andhra Pradesh DCM.
Udhay had in September 2023 stoked a row by equating Sanatana Dharma with “Dengue, Malaria, and Corona” and calling for its “eradication” from the society – a statement that the BJP pounced on to target the Dravidian party and its ally, Congress.
Udhay had said Sanathana Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatana Dharma will lead to upholding humanity and human equality, he added.
“The conference’s title is apt. I appreciate them for pushing for eradication of Sanatanam and not merely opposing it. For instance, mosquitoes, Dengue, Malaria, and Corona, we should eradicate these, and not just oppose them. Likewise, Sanatanam should also be eradicated from society. It is not enough if we merely oppose it,” he had said.