(L-R) Pawan Kalyan and Udhayanidhi Stalin
Credit: PTI Photos
Chennai: “Let’s wait and see.” This is how Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin responded to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Pawan Kalyan’s remarks that those who called for annihilation of Sanatana Dharma will be “wiped out.”
“Let’s wait and see…Let’s wait and see,” Udhay said and refused to give an elaborate response to Pawan Kalyan’s statement. The Jena Sena leader, who is on a pilgrimage to Tirupati close on the heels of the controversy over adulterated ghee being used to make ladoo, had on Thursday took a swipe at Udhay, without naming him, for his 2023 remarks likening Sanatana Dharma to malaria and dengue.
“A politician from a neighbouring state (Tamil Nadu) said Sanatana Dharma is like a virus and that he will destroy it. Whoever said this, let me tell you, sir, from the feet of Lord Balaji, nobody can wipe out Sanatana Dharma. If anyone tries, then they will be wiped out,” Pawan Kalyan, who has taken to wearing saffron clothes after the controversy broke out, said.
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.
This was not the first time that DMK leaders have come under attack for their controversial remarks on Sanatana Dharma. In the past, DMK MP A Raja was in the thick of a controversy for his remarks on the caste system within Hinduism and Manusmrithi.
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.
The deputy chief minister’s comments had not just brought the DMK in the BJP’s line of fire but also the Congress, which took pains to distance itself from the remarks.