Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday asked DMK leaders to avoid falling for the BJP’s diversionary tactics of raking up the Sanatan Dharma issue — triggered by his son and cabinet colleague Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks — and keep the focus on everyday issues such as the Manipur violence, the Adani controversy and the Narendra Modi government’s failures.
Essentially, Stalin appeared to be asking his party colleagues to tone down the Sanatan Dharma rhetoric, belatedly taking on board the sensitivities of the INDIA bloc parties — particularly the Congress, Trinamul and Shiv Sena (Thackeray) — which are being targeted by the BJP as anti-Hindu for being the DMK’s allies.
The DMK’s robust fight back and defence of Udhayanidhi since he made the controversial remarks earlier this month and stuck to them subsequently has put many of its allies in the INDIA bloc in a spot since they are not anti-religion in the way several Tamil Nadu-based parties are.
For the BJP, Udhayanidhi's remarks have served as an unexpected bonanza, allowing it to keep Hinduism at the centre of the debate.
Stalin’s call for scaling down the anti-religion rhetoric comes a day after a video of cabinet colleague K. Ponmudy claiming that the INDIA grouping of Opposition parties had been formed to oppose Sanatan Dharma surfaced.
Eager to ensure that partners in the INDIA bloc do not end up becoming collateral damage in this war of words with the BJP, the chief minister in a post on X (formerly Twitter) said: "While the Prime Minister remains silent on everyday issues impacting the common man, his cabinet focuses on #SanatanaDharma by spreading false narratives and fuelling it with support from a few media outlets.
"I urge our DMK leaders and cadre not to react to such diversion tactics and to continue posing questions to the BJP on #ManipurViolence, #AdaniHindenburg, a whopping 7.50 lakh crore rupees flagged in the #CAGreport, and other pressing issues, along with highlighting 9-year failures of the BJP. We will keep on posing questions, and so will #INDIA.’’
Last week, Stalin himself joined the issue over his son’s remarks after Modi asked party leaders to give a proper response.
"Hon'ble Minister @UdhayStalin didn't call for 'genocide' as distorted by BJP, but only spoke against discrimination. Disheartening to see the 'responsible' Hon'ble Prime Minister, Union Ministers and BJP chief ministers ignore facts and driven on fake narratives despite having all access and resources to verify the facts,’’ Stalin said in a post on X that was accompanied with a point-by-point counter to the allegations levelled against the DMK.
Since Udhayanidhi made the remarks on Sanatan Dharma, FIRs have been filed against him in several states, the latest being in Mumbai on Wednesday.