File photo of Union Minister of State Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.
Credit: PTI Photo
DMK leader Udayanidhi Stalin is a minister in the (state) government, and an associate in I.N.D.I.A alliance, and the coalition leaders should condemn his comments (on Sanatan Dharma), and clear the air if it’s his personal statement, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, minister of state for rural development, said on Monday.
Trinamool Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, said that while she isn’t clear in what context such a statement was made, yet she feels that every religion should be respected.
Jyoti, who visited Barrackpore on Kolkata’s northern fringes, referred to Stalin’s remarks, and stated that Banerjee herself must be a visitor to temples.
“I need an answer to this question …,” she said. The Hindu religion, the minister said, is not wrapped ash that could be blown away. “Hindu religion is that culture that’s imbibed in the veins of the people of India… It never talks of splitting people apart,” Jyoti said, adding that despite attempts made against it, the culture couldn’t be eliminated.
“I would say that through this legacy all cultures originated. I just want to hear from Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, whether she will oppose, or if she also agrees with the statement,” Jyoti said.
The minister said that a statement by a person on constitutional post cannot be in personal capacity. “If it’s his personal statement, then Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee… the people, whoever, are part of I.N.D.I.A, they should come forward, and condemn it, and say it’s his personal statement,” she said.
Banerjee said that she respects Tamil Nadu, and south India, but requested that all religions be respected, and India is a secular and democratic country, with unity in diversity as origin.
“We should not involve in any matter which may hurt any section of the people… maybe he is junior so he may not be knowing that,” Banerjee said, adding that she wasn’t clear in what context were the comments made, and every religion should be respected," Banerjee said.
Instead of condemning, she said, her humble request was to everybody was that they should not make comments that hurt the majority or even a small section of the people, the TMC chief added.