Arvind Kejriwal.
Credit: PTI Photo
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said he is from 'Sanatan Dharma' and stressed on respecting every religion, amid a controversy over DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's 'eradicate Sanatan Dharma' comment.
Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is part of the Opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A that is being targeted by the BJP over the DMK leader's remarks. Delhi BJP leaders had also asked the AAP chief to clear his stand on the issue.
"I am from Sanatan Dharma. Many of you also belong to Sanatan Dharma. I feel we should respect each other's religion and not speak wrong against it. It is not right. Everyone should respect each other's religion," Kejriwal said at a press conference.
Addressing the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association in Chennai on Saturday, Udhayanidhi, who is the son of Chief Minister M K Stalin, said Sanatan is against equality and social justice. He likened Sanatana Dharma to coronavirus, malaria and dengue and said such things should not be opposed but destroyed.
He referred to Sanatan Dharma as 'Sanatanam' in his address in Tamil at the event.
The DMK leader's remarks have triggered a row with BJP leaders and Union ministers attacking the Opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A, asking if its recent Mumbai meeting was to target the Hindu religion, and the Congress saying that it respects all religions but others have the freedom to express their views.