Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 7: Defending his son for the first time since the row over “Sanatana Dharma” erupted last week, the Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin attacked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not verifying the “false narrative” being spread about Udhayanidhi Stalin, also a minister in his cabinet, before he made remarks at a Central Cabinet meeting and also accused the BJP of using it divert attention from violence-hit Manipur and the CAG report of financial irregularities.
Udhayanidhi Stalin also issued a statement on Thursday similarly attacking the BJP f trying to divert attention from pressing public problems and said Modi and his Cabinet colleagues were using the political row that has since erupted over his remarks as a weapon to protect themselves. “They consider this row a weapon to protect themselves with. What is surprising is that Union Ministers including Amit Shah and Chief Minister of States ruled by the BJP are also demanding action against me based on fake news,” the Minister said, in a statement issued on Thursday.
The Congress taking the leadership of the entire INDIA bloc of which Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK party was an important partner, said it did not agree with the remarks of Udhayanidhi Stalin and DMK MP A Raja on ‘Sanatana Dharma’ and asserted the party believed in “sarvadharma sambhav” (equal respect to all religions). But the party refused to push the DMK aside and insisted that there was no need to “take up the matter” with the DMK as the Congress was confident that every single member of the INDIA alliance has immense respect for all faiths, communities and beliefs.
Launching a forceful attack on Modi and the BJP, the Tamil Nadu chief minister in a lengthy statement in both English and Tamil said his son had only spoken about “inhuman principles preached by Sanatana Dharma that discriminate against Scheduled Castes, tribes and women” and “had no intention to offend any religion or religious beliefs.”
The Chief Minister then ripped into “some people (who) propagate caste-based discrimination (and) still denigrate women on spiritual platforms” and accused “pro-BJP forces unable to tolerate his stance against oppressive principles” of spreading misinformation about his minister’s speech.
“Even as we launch Chandrayaan to the Moon, some people continue to propagate caste discrimination… emphasising social stratification based on Varnashrama principles and citing sastras and other ancients texts to support sectarian claims… some individuals still denigrate women on spiritual platforms, arguing women should not work, widowed women should not remarry…”
“They use the term ‘Sanatana’ to perpetuate oppression of women, who make up more than half of humankind. Udhayanidhi only spoke against such oppressive ideologies and called (for the) eradication of practices based on those ideologies,” Chief Minister Stalin wrote.
Accusing Modi and the BJP of misusing the row to divert attention from issues such as the situation in Manipur or the alleged irregularities to the tune of ₹7.50 lakh crores highlighted in the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, Stalin referred to Modi’s reported comment in the Central cabinet meeting that Udhayanidhi’s remarks “needed a proper response,” and said “The Prime Minister has access to all resources to verify any claim or report. So, is the Prime Minister speaking, while unaware of the lies spread about Udhayanidhi, or does he do so knowingly?”
He wondered that when a “self-proclaimed” seer from Uttar Pradesh burnt Udhayanidhi’s photo and even offered Rs 10 crores bounty on his head, instead of taking action against him, the UP government filed cases against Udhayanidhi.
While Udhayanidhi Stalin had spoken out “only against such oppressive ideologies and called for the eradication of practices-based on those ideologies,” pro-BJP forces have spread a “false narrative” alleging that his son had called for the genocide of people with Sanatana thoughts. Even Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and many others, “shared the same lie and condemned Udhayanidhi.
“Neither the Prime Minister nor his Ministers have replied [in Parliament] on issues such as the violence in Manipur and the 7.50 lakh crore worth of irregularities highlighted in the CAG report. But they convened the Cabinet on Sanatana. Can these leaders truly protect the backward castes, Scheduled Castes, Tribal people, and uplift women?” Stalin asked.
Stalin also took quotes from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s earlier speeches to support his son’s contentions on Sanatana Dharma. He said Bhagwat had said “we kept our own fellow human beings behind in the social system. We did not care for them, and this continued for almost 2,000 years. Until we provide them [with] equality, some special remedies have to be made. Reservations are one of them. Reservations should continue until there is no such discrimination,” Stalin quoted Bhagwat and said “If the BJP needs any further explanation regarding what Minister Udhayanidhi said, they should consult Mr. Mohan Bhagwat.”
The Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera asked about comments by leaders of ally DMK on “Sanatana Dharma” said, “The Congress has always believed in ‘sarvadharma sambhav’ wherein every religion, every faith has its space. No one can treat any particular faith as less than another faith. Neither the Constitution allows this nor the Indian National Congress believes in any of these comments.”
“If you know the history of the Indian National Congress you would know that we have always maintained (this stand) and you will find the same principles in the Constituent Assembly debates and the Constitution of India. There can never be a rethink on the Constitution as far as the Congress is concerned,” he said.
Pressed further as to why the Congress had not condemned the remarks, Khera said, “I just said we do not agree with such comments.” Asked if the Congress would raise this with its ally DMK, Khera said there is no need to raise these issues because “we know for a fact that each one of our constituents also respects every religion.” “Now if you want to twist anybody’s remarks, they are free to do so. If it suits the PM let him twist those remarks but every single member of the INDIA alliance has immense respect for all faiths, communities, beliefs and religions,” he maintained.