Udhayanidhi Stalin says he stands by comments on Sanatana, even as High Court cautions

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India]: Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin who has come under heat for his controversial “Sanatana Dharma” statement said that he will not back down from his statement and his statement is in line with what BR Ambedkar and Periyar have advocated.

“I stood strong with my statement on Sanatana Dharma. I won’t back down from my statement. I will face it legally. I didn’t speak more than what Ambedkar and Periyar have spoken,” Udhayanidhi Stalin said at a press conference speaking on the Madras High Court Judge Justice G Jayachandran’s observation on the case.

Udhayanidhi said that party positions or positions in the government do not matter much to him and it is important to be “human” first.

“Today the position of the Minister, MLA and Youth Wing Secretary will be there and tomorrow it may not be there. More than everything, we have to be humans first,” he said.

The Tamil Nadu Minister who is also the son of Chief Minister MK Stalin said that they have been speaking on the Sanatana issue for centuries.

“The Sanatana issue is a long one and we have been speaking about this for centuries. In any period, we will oppose it,” Udhayanidhi said.

The comments from the Tamil Nadu Minister after the Madras High Court Judge Justice G Jayachandran cautioned those in power from making such remarks

“This Court is of the view that the person in power should realise the danger of speech flaring fissiparous tendencies and behave responsibly and restrain themselves from propagating views which will divide people in the name of Ideology, Caste and Religion,” the Justice observed.

“Instead, they may concentrate on eradicating intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious to health, corruption, untouchability and other social evil,” he added.

The Justice also observed that inaction by the police against the organizers of the meeting where the “Sanatana Dharma” speech was given amounted to “dereliction of duty” by the police.

“Some Members of the ruling party and Ministers participated in the meeting held for eradicating “Sanatana Dharma” and no action has been taken by the police against them which is a dereliction of duty on the part of the Police,” Justice Jayachandran observed.

Justice Jayachandran further observed that the public is fed up with the way some persons who have taken Oath of office act in “breach of their Oath”.

“Since police failed to act against those who had uttered inflammatory speech to eradicate ‘Sanatana Dharma’, now permission is being sought to counter it by conducting a meeting to eradicate “Dravidian Ideology”.

If the request of the petitioner is acceded to, it will cause further disturbance to the peace and tranquillity of the public, who are already fed up with the way some of the fringe groups in support of persons who have taken the Oath of office to preserve the spirit of Constitution, act in breach of their Oath,” Justice G Jayachandran said.

Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comments that Sanatana Dharma should not be opposed but eradicated led to a huge political storm in the country with some allies of the DMK government choosing not to wade into the controversy.

Udhayanidhi however stood his ground and repeatedly refused to back down on his statement.