New Delhi: In a statement released on Thursday, the BJP called A Raja, leader of the Democratic Malayalam Party (DMK), "outrageous and vitriolic" for his statements on Sanatan Dharma, claiming that they exemplify the "mental bankruptcy" and "deep-rooted Hinduphobia" of the opposition I.N.D.I.A. alliance.
The BJP has accused the Congress and its supporters of "consciously" maligning the "soul, spirit, and roots of Bharat" in an effort to damage the sensibilities of Hindus in order to win over minority votes; they have urged Rahul Gandhi to clarify if this is not the case.
It's terrible to see such words emanating from the politicians of the 'ghamandiya gathbandhan (arrogant alliance)', led by the Congress, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said in an attack on the INDIA bloc.
In response to comments made by A Raja and his party colleague Udhayanidhi Stalin, the Congress issued a statement saying it did not agree with their views and that it instead believed in "sarvadharma sambhav" (same regard for all religions).
The Sanatan Dharma, according to Raja, should be compared to diseases with a societal stigma, like AIDS and leprosy. Stalin's contentious statement on the Sanatan Dharma had just been made days before to his comments.
Dharmendra Pradhan, minister of education and leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has criticised the INDIA bloc, an Opposition alliance whose members include some former members of the UPA, for their stance on the matter.
Change of name (UPA to I.N.D.I.A.) does not change one's nature or intentions, he said on X. "Outrageous and vitriolic comments about Sanatan Dharma, this time by... A Raja," the author writes, "reflect the mental bankruptcy and deep-rooted Hinduphobia that engulfs the I.N.D.I.A bloc." The DMK belongs to the INDIA coalition.
How the Congress and its "friends are consciously maligning the soul, spirit, and roots of Bharat," Pradhan said, is being watched by the entire nation. Let us "remind the haters that Sanatan is eternal, Sanatan is truth," Pradhan said.
"This clearly shows that the blessing of the Congress party is with these alliance partners who time and again are making such statements that are anti-Hindu, which are demeaning the Sanatan Dharma," Anurag Thakur said.
According to the minister, this demonstrates that during their conference in Mumbai, they decided to "stoop down to" misusing the Sanatan Dharma in order to advance their political careers.
He went on to say that the remark "clearly shows" a Congress hand behind these utterances due to Rahul Gandhi and the greater Gandhi family's silence on the matter.
Thakur insisted that Rahul Gandhi explain his position, saying he must end his silence. Meanwhile, the Congress stated that it did not agree with the comments made by DMK leaders Udhayanidhi Stalin and A Raja and that it was committed to "sarvadharma sambhav" (same respect for all religions).
"My question to Rahul Gandhi is, is it not a violation of the Constitution, law of the land?" (referring to Gandhi's comments about Sanatan Dharma). Surely you agree that this constitutes hate speech. If that's the case, you ought to speak up and explain what you think of them. When did you decide to go silent? The preacher continued, "What is your helplessness?"
According to Thakur, the "disrepute" of their coalition is being sullied by the words of opposition politicians who have attacked Sanatan Dharma. I ask God to bless them with wisdom during Janamastami. Prahlad Patel, minister of state for food processing industries in the Indian government, blasted the DMK leaders for their comments and warned other political parties from crossing the line into "hate politics" in order to get votes.
Patel referred to the comments made by DMK leaders as a "conspiracy of INDI Alliance" and claimed that the "silence" of the top leadership of the Congress party on the matter was evidence that the party had instructed its partners to speak out against Sanatan Dharma in this way. This proves without a reasonable doubt that the INDI Alliance is behind the plot. The silence of the Congress' top leadership, followed by statements from their partners like the DMK leader, the Congress second rung leader who is in the Karnataka government, and the RJD leader from Bihar, "show that it's part of a well thought out strategy of this INDI Alliance," he said.
The highest levels of Congress are remaining mute. Not a peep from Rahul Gandhi. The minister said that the absence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the presence of his son Priyank Kharge at the press conference was proof that the minister had instructed others to make the comments.
Shehzad Poonawalla, a spokesperson for the BJP, has said that the anti-Hindu rhetoric coming from the "INDI Alliance" is no accident but rather a "well thought out experiment."
"In the Mumbai meeting, it was decided that Hindu faith has to be hurt in order to get votes," he claimed.
Udhayanidhi Stalin's comments on eradicating Sanatan Dharma shortly after the Mumbai summit set the tone for the entire episode. Priyank Kharge and Karthi Chidambaram, both prominent members of the Congress, defended him. Poonwalla stated that G Parameshwara, a minister from Karnataka, had questioned the Hindu religion's origins the day before.
Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the Congress leadership of "silence" in the face of contentious comments made by some of its own politicians, as well as those made by the Congress's ally in Tamil Nadu, the DMK, concerning the Hindu faith.
When questioned whether "a decision was taken to denigrate Hindus" at the recent meeting of the INDIA grouping, Prasad, a former union minister, raised the issue at a press conference in Patna.
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M K Stalin stated on Thursday that his son Udhayanidhi made statements regarding the "inhuman principles" advocated in the Sanatan Dharma, adding that the BJP is "desperate" to sow division within the INDIA bloc in the wake of the controversy surrounding comments made by DMK leaders.
Meanwhile, Udhayanidhi went on the offensive against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the leaders of the BJP had "twisted" his words from a writers' convention he attended the week before.
The DMK Youth Wing chairman, who also serves as the state minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development, has pledged to pursue legal action against anyone who brings charges related to this issue.
The Prime Minister discussed the controversy surrounding the TN leader's alleged anti-Sanatan Dharma statements with his cabinet colleagues in New Delhi the day before his harsh criticism of Modi, calling him "globe-trotting" and unwilling to face questions about the Manipur violence.
K Annamalai, head of the BJP's Tamil Nadu chapter, made a post on X in which he wrote, "If something needs eradication from Tamil Nadu, it is the DMK," before adding, "D - Dengue, M-Malaria." K - Kosu. In the future, we predict that DMK will be synonymous with these fatal illnesses.—Inputs from Agencies