VHP flays Udhayanidhi Stalin, urges Hindus to give fitting reply

Chennai:The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Monday flayed Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin for his remarks on eradication of Sanatana Dharma and urged the Hindus to give a fitting reply to "pseudo Dravidians" attempting to destroy the basic fabric of unity and religious harmony in the country.

All India joint secretary of VHP P M Nagarajan demanded Udhayanidhi to clarify if his views reflected those of the state government. "If so, then we will tell the Central government that Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution gives every person the right to practice his religion," he said.

Contending that it is the duty of the government to protect and not pursue an agenda of abolishing Sanatan, he said speaking on the contrary meant the government has deviated from the path of law by not following its constitutional responsibilities. "In such a situation, the Centre will have to think about what options it has," Nagarajan said in a statement here.

Addressing the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association in Chennai on Saturday, Udhayanidhi, who is 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.

Nagarajan said some politicians were "daydreaming about the Sanatan which the Mughals, missionaries and the British could not destroy." While issuing such threats Udhayanidhi did not even consider his own strength. The consequences of such threats can also be serious, he warned and added that both Dravidian culture and Tamil were part of Sanatana Dharma, which faced challenges from Muslims, missionaries and the British, and emerged victorious.

"The rule of the Mughals and the British disappeared. Remember that one who talks about destroying Sanatan himself gets destroyed," the VHP leader cautioned.

The Chief Minister’s son should find sources of mutual consent and unity instead of disintegration and destruction, the VHP senior said.