Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 12: In a bid to keep the controversy over criticism of the “Sanatana Dharma” alive, the Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat went to the extent of using uncivilised words threatening that anyone who speaks against the Sanatana Dharma would have his tongue pulled out and his eyes gouged out.
A video of Mr. Shekhawat making the purported remarks went viral on social media. He was speaking at a public rally in Barmer district of poll-bound Rajasthan during BJP’s Parivartan Yatra.
Even though most of the partners of the opposition alliance have distanced themselves from the uncalled for remarks of the Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin comparing “Sanatana Dharma” with diseases calling for its “eradication,” the BJP repeatedly held the remark as the official stand of the INDIA block and lambasted the opposition for the alleged “hidden agenda” for its “vote bank politics.”
The Aam Aadmi Party leader and one of the 14-member Coordination Committee of the INDIA alliance, Raghav Chadha, on Tuesday castigated the BJP for criticising the opposition on the issue and said any remark by a small leader of any of the 28 members of the group could not be held as the official stand of the entire INDIA. “I am myself a follower of Sanatana Dharma and I don’t agree with Stalin on this issue. The BJP has no business to campaign it as the official stand of the INDIA alliance,” he said.
Reacting to the recent comments made by Udhayanidhi Stalin against the Sanatana Dharma, Mr Shekhawat said, “We have to stand up to the challenge. We will pull out the tongue of anyone who speaks against Sanatana. We will also gouge out those eyes raised against Sanatana.” “We challenge that no person who speaks against Sanatana will be able to maintain political position and power in this country. They try to attack our culture and history,” he said.
In the rally, Mr. Shekhawat also said the opposition INDIA alliance was a grouping of those who have been involved in various scams like fodder scam and others. He said Opposition parties’ objective is to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Mr Shekhawat’s statement comes even after the Prime Minister at his cabinet meeting last week had asked his ministers not to speak on “Sanatana Dharma” controversy stating that the issue required “proper answering to Stalin’s remarks.”
The BJP president J.P. Nadda also led a fresh charge against the INDIA bloc on Tuesday on the issue alleging that these parties were targeting “Sanatana Dharma” as part of their vote-bank politics. BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad in turn termed “shameful” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray’s apprehension of a “Godhra-like incident” during the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, scheduled for January next year.
On Tuesday, Mr Nadda addressed the remarks by another DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Minister K. Ponmudy that the INDIA bloc was forged as an “opposition to Sanatana ideology.” “The Congress and the INDI Alliance should make their view clear and tell if the Constitution gives the right to make objectionable comments against any religion? Do INDI Alliance members not know the constitutional provisions,” Mr Nadda posted on “X”.
The alliance, the Congress and that party’s leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should answer as to why “hate against Sanatana Dharma is being sold in the name of mohabbat ki dukan,” he said. “This mega mall of hate is only for power; divide and rule,” Mr Nadda alleged. Addressing a press conference, BJP leader and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad focussed attention not only on the remarks on Sanatana Dharma by DMK leaders but also Mr. Thackeray’s remarks on the likelihood of a “Godhra-like incident” at the time of the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
On the remarks on Sanatana Dharma, Mr Prasad demanded an explanation from Congress leaders Ms Sonia Gandhi and Mr. Rahul Gandhi as to whether they approved of the views of their allies. “Such silence is an indication of approval”, he said, making it clear that the BJP would be going to the people on the issue after the agenda had been set by the Opposition. “We will talk of vikas [development] as well as virasat [heritage],” he said. India would not tolerate this insult to Sanatana, Mr Prasad said.
The AAP leader Raghav Chadha on Tuesday condemned DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remark on Sanatana Dharma but said statements made by some “small” leader from any party cannot be considered the official stand of the INDIA bloc. “I am from Sanatana Dharma. I condemn and oppose such statements. Such kind of statements should not be made. One should stay away from making such remarks on any religion. We should respect all religions,” Mr Chadha said.
“Some leader from some party makes such remarks… it doesn’t mean it is the statement of the alliance. The alliance has been formed for raising big issues like price rise, unemployment facing the country. The statement made by some small leader, while standing in a district in a state, is not the official stand of the alliance,” Mr Chadha asserted.
Chadha is a member of the 14-member coordination committee, which is the top decision-making body of the INDIA bloc. A meeting of the committee will be held at the residence of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar in Delhi on Wednesday. “The meeting will see a discussion on the issues that we will raise, how will we reach out to people on them, through rallies or door-to-door campaign, public rally, along with dynamics in states. All states are different and that is how we celebrate our diversity. Electoral colour is different. We will discuss it state-wise,” he said.