New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked his ministers to give a “befitting reply” to those insulting Sanatana Dharma, a number of Union ministers and BJP leaders Thursday trained their guns at the Congress, asking Rahul Gandhi to break his silence on the issue and state the party’s stance.
DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin had last Saturday criticised Sanatana Dharma (believed to be a set of duties incumbent upon all Hindus), saying that “there are certain things which we have to eradicate and not merely oppose. Like mosquitoes, dengue, Covid-19 and malaria require eradication, not mere opposition, so does Sanatana (Dharma)”.
On Wednesday, another DMK leader, A. Raja, further stoked the controversy by stating that “Sanatana Dharma should be looked upon as a disease which is a social disgrace like HIV and leprosy”.
The DMK is part of the INDIA opposition bloc that is preparing to take on the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre in 2024. The Congress is another key constituent along with at least 24 other parties.
Among those who slammed the comments as well as the INDIA alliance were Union ministers Anurag Thakur, Hardeep Puri, Smriti Irani and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Terming the comments as a conspiracy against Hindus, information and broadcasting minister Thakur told the media Thursday, “It is a comment that insults 100 crore Hindus. Nafratvadi nahi premvadi hain hum… garv se kaho ki Hinduvadi hain hum (we do not hate but love, say with pride that we are Hindus).”
“How much more will you fall? The Congress should make its stand clear about whether it endorses such a comment. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi talks about mohabbat ki dukaan (a store of love) but in reality, he nurtures nafrat ki dukaan (a store of hatred),” he added.
Thakur asserted that the Congress and its alliance partners should apologise for the comments.
“They talk about respecting the Constitution, but are busy abusing Hindus. Is abusing religion part of the Constitution? The law will take its own course but the public will not forgive them. Mughals came and left, Britishers came and left, those who wanted to destroy Sanatana (Dharma) got destroyed themselves. Sanatana Dharma will remain today, tomorrow and forever,” he added.
Petroleum minister Puri also termed the statements “disgusting”.
“This kind of permanent brain damage is a possible outcome when someone is bitten by a dengue mosquito and takes medicine for HIV. The virus of hate which afflicts some is clearly more dangerous than all the diseases they are coming up with, put together,” he reportedly said.
Puri added that such “outlandish statements with camouflaged calls for violence against ancient Sanatana Dharma should serve as a wake-up call for all god-fearing Indians”.
“These evil designs of ghamandi (arrogant) alliance partners must be defeated. This politics of hate has no place in the civilised world,” he said.
Speaking to ThePrint on condition of anonymity, a senior BJP leader said the party will continue to raise the issue in the coming days. “They have given us an issue on a platter ahead of the assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Our party respects all religions and we will continue to target those who abuse our religion in the garb of secularism,” said the leader.
Tamil Nadu BJP leaders have also sought Governor R.N. Ravi’s approval to initiate action against Udhayanidhi.
Also Read: ‘Confronting Sanatana Dharma an old tradition’ — why Udhayanidhi remark hasn’t shocked Tamil Nadu
‘No one can destroy Sanatana Dharma’
Addressing a parivartan yatra in Rajasthan’s Barmer, Jal Shakti minister Shekhawat asserted that “no one can destroy Sanatana Dharma”.
“(Mallikarjun) Kharge (Congress president) says that if Modiji wins, Sanatana will become stronger, hence Sanatana has to be defeated. Your father (Alauddin) Khalji came, Gor (Muhammad of Ghor) came, Ghazni (Mahmud of Ghazni) came, but could not destroy Sanatana Dharma,” he was quoted as saying.
Women and child development minister Irani said during a Janamashtami celebration event in Delhi that “those who challenge Sanatana Dharma, the voice should reach them that till the ‘bhakts’ are alive, no one can challenge their religion”.
At a meeting of the council of ministers Wednesday ahead of the G20 Summit this weekend, PM Modi had asked Union ministers to “factually” respond to all criticism of Sanatana Dharma, referring to Udhayanidhi’s comment.
Multiple ministers present at the meeting had told ThePrint that the Prime Minister asked them to counter insult to Sanatana Dharma with facts and under the ambit of the Constitution. “He pointed out that we should speak on the Sanatana Dharma issue as it is an insult to our religion. The PM also said we should speak with responsibility,” said a minister.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: Indian Constitution follows Sanatan Dharma principle. It’s a universal code of conduct