Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who is also the son of Chief Minister Stalin, finds himself entangled in a legal controversy as an FIR has been registered against him in Mumbai over his contentious comments regarding ‘Sanatana Dharma.’
Mumbai’s Mira Road police have initiated the case under sections 153 A and 295 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The trigger for this legal action came when a BJP delegation in Tamil Nadu submitted a memorandum to the state police, pressing for the registration of an FIR against Udhayanidhi Stalin for his remarks targeting ‘Sanatana Dharma.’
During a conference held in Chennai, Udhayanidhi, who holds the portfolio of Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs in the Tamil Nadu government, made a statement comparing Sanatana Dharma to “dengue, malaria, fever, and corona.” He went on to advocate not merely opposing but eradicating Sanatana Dharma.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a meeting of the Council of Ministers, waded into the controversy surrounding Udhayanidhi’s comments. Sources indicate that he encouraged his ministers to vehemently counter the attacks on Sanatana Dharma with substantiated facts. In response, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin expressed his displeasure, suggesting that it was unfair for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pass judgment without a full understanding of Udhayanidhi’s remarks concerning ‘Sanatana Dharma.’
The furor sparked by the remarks on “Sanatana Dharma” has ignited a political battle across the country. The political adversaries within the NDA and INDIA alliances have engaged in a verbal feud after the DMK leader equated ‘Sanatana Dharma’ with “mosquitoes, dengue, malaria, fever, and corona.”
Notably, the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Aam Aadmi Party, all part of the Opposition INDIA bloc, have distanced themselves from Udhayanidhi’s comments.