Udhayanidhi Stalin has no right to hurt the sentiments of Sanatan Dharma followers and must apologise for his remarks on “one of the oldest religions” of the world, Muslim clerics in Uttar Pradesh have said. Many of them, across Sunni and Shia outfits, also demanded that the anti-BJP INDIA bloc clarify on the DMK leader and Tamil Nadu minister’s comments, alleging it to be an attempt to “divide India on religious lines”.
“It’s a derogatory remark and Udhayanidhi Stalin should apologise for making such remarks against one of the oldest religions of the world. Nobody has the right to hurt people’s sentiments. Also, the anti-BJP front INDIA must clarify its stand on the Sanatan Dharma,” said Maulana Habib Haider, a senior Shia cleric and general secretary of the Shia Sunni Ulema Front.
Shahbuddin Rizvi, who belongs to the Barelvi school of thought and is president of All India Muslim Jamaat Maulana, said Udhayanidhi had no right to target any religion. “Such statements divide people on the basis of religion. Religions are meant to unite people and not divide them on the basis of caste,” he said.
Echoing similar sentiments, Abu Zafar Nomani, Sunni cleric representing the Deobandi school of thought, said such anti-religion remarks could lead to anarchy. “One should not make any remarks that are a threat to law and order. I think (Udhayanidhi) Stalin should apologise for his remark,” said Nomani.
Udhayanidhi Stalin had made the offending remarks on Saturday during an event in Tamil Nadu, comparing the Sanatan Dharma with diseases like dengue and malaria. His comments sparked a backlash from political parties, with the BJP insisting that the Congress condemn its ally’s remarks.
In his address at a meeting of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association (TNPWAA) in Chennai last week, the DMK leader likened Sanatan Dharma to coronavirus, malaria and dengue and said “such things should not be opposed but destroyed".
As the backlash mounted swiftly, he claimed that he had not called for violence against the followers of Sanatan Dharma.
“Sanatan Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatan Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality," he had alleged while reiterating his remarks against Sanatan Dharma, a term used by many Hindus to describe the religion.
On Thursday, the DMK minister accused the BJP of “twisting" his statements and vowed to face all cases in this connection legally.
“… the BJP leaders have twisted my speech at the TNPWAA conference as ‘inciting genocide’… In all fairness, I should be the one filing criminal cases and other court cases against them for spreading slander while holding respectable positions. But I am aware that this is their mode of survival. They don’t know how else to survive, so I decided not to do that," he said.
On Wednesday, an FIR was registered in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur against Udhayanidhi Stalin and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge for allegedly hurting religious feelings. Udhayanidhi was booked for his alleged comments Sanatan Dharma and Kharge for backing his remark.
The two were booked under sections 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings) and 153 A (promoting enmity between different religious groups) of the IPC at Civil Lines Police Station.
Over 260 eminent citizens, including former judges and bureaucrats, have also written to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud urging him to take cognisance of the DMK leader’s comments, calling it “hate speech”.
