Sanatan Dharma row: DMK provokes again; it's 'Hinduphobia': BJP

New Delhi, September 7

The ongoing row over Sanatan Dharma escalated on Thursday with the ruling DMK provoking afresh and the BJP top brass slamming the opposition INDIA bloc for promoting “Hinduphobia and hate speech”.

Stigma like leprosy

If compared to diseases, leprosy and HIV had stigma… it (Sanatan Dharma) should be regarded like HIV & leprosy.

— A Raja, DMK Leader

Advertisement

Days after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi compared Sanatan Dharma with diseases that warrant “eradication”, DMK leader and former Union minister A Raja today said Sanatan Dharma, like AIDS and leprosy, promoted social stigma. Even as the Congress fielded media department head Pawan Khera to dissociate from the DMK and reiterate its stand of “respect for all faiths”, Union Minister Anurag Thakur led the attack against the Opposition, demanding answers from Rahul Gandhi.

Vitriolic comments

Outrageous and vitriolic comments reflect mental bankruptcy and deep-rooted Hinduphobia that engulfs INDIA bloc.

— Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister

“Do statements against Sanatan Dharma not constitute hate speech? Are these not anti-Constitution? Why doesn’t Rahul, who stocks hate in his shop, come clean? The fact that Gandhis are silent proves this anti-Hindu stance has their blessings. It also shows that in the Mumbai meeting of the Opposition, it was agreed to stoop low and abuse Sanatan Dharma for political gains. The silence of Gandhis shows Congress is behind these statements,” Thakur claimed, a day after PM Narendra Modi exhorted ministers to respond forcefully to anti-Sanatan rants.

In UP, CM Yogi Adityanath mounted an offensive, saying Sanatan Dharma survived Ravana, Babar and Aurangzeb. “Ravana’s arrogance could not demolish Sanatan Dharma. How will the arrogance of this power-hungry ‘ghamandia’ (haughty) alliance destroy our way of life?” he said, even as Congress’ Khera cited party’s history to say, “Neither the Constitution allows this nor the Congress believes in any of these comments…” The Congress said it suited the BJP to “twist the remarks of one member of the INDIA alliance even as the rest have immense respect for all religions”.

In Bihar, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad flashed the copy of the Constitution, which bears images of Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, other Indian deities, and argued the Gandhi family had no knowledge of the Constitution, which celebrates Sanatan Dharma traditions. “Even Nehru had no problem with these depictions of Indian deities,” said Prasad.

Declaring that the BJP would never accept denigration of the Hindu faith and “Hinduphobia”, Prasad said the silence of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the forces behind the Congress, was baffling. He recited a Sanskrit shloka to say: “Silence amounts to acceptance”. The row has caused massive consternation within the INDIA bloc rank.