DMK’s anti-Sanatan Dharma statements have shaken the very base of the opposition alliance India.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s son and minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has created a new crisis for the opposition unity which is already struggling with the storm of mutual allegations and counter-allegations by giving the statement of abolition of Sanatan Dharma. The situation is such that for the opposition parties, this statement of Udhayanidhi is neither a matter of swallowing nor of spitting it out. Instead of expressing a clear reaction on this issue, the opposition parties are avoiding it. Opposition parties are in danger of angering the Hindu vote bank on this issue, while it is well known that the main issues of political parties in Tamil Nadu have been caste, religion and language. Be it the current ruling party DMK or the main opposition party AIADMK, their political foundation is based on opposition to religion and sect. Udhayanidhi Stalin had compared Sanatan Dharma with Corona virus, malaria and dengue fever and said that such things should not be opposed, but should be eliminated.

Udhayanidhi’s statement has become a problem for the India Alliance parties before they can reach a consensus on other issues. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed disagreement on this issue. He said that he does not agree with Udhayanidhi’s statement. CM Mamata advised Udhayanidhi to avoid such statements and said that I respect the people of Tamil Nadu a lot, but my humble request to them is that every religion has its own different sentiments. We should not get involved in any matter which may hurt any section of the society. Congress is facing the most trouble due to this issue. Congress is unable to understand how to deal with this matter. If Congress opposes Stalin’s statement, then there is a danger of increasing the rift in opposition unity. In case of not opposing, it is not easy to defend against the sharp attacks of BJP. Which will directly impact the vote bank. Leaders in Congress have expressed different opinions on this issue. Party MP Karti Chidambaram fully supported the DMK minister’s statement and said that Udhayanidhi Stalin in his speech simply said that the casteist society should be eliminated. Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said that any religion which does not give equal rights or does not treat you like a human being is tantamount to a disease. On the contrary, Congress Organization General Secretary KC Venugopal said that our stand is clear. Equality of all religions is the ideology of Congress, but you have to understand that every political party has the freedom to express its views. We respect everyone’s faith. Whereas Congress leader and former Union Minister Karan Singh termed Stalin’s statement as extremely unfortunate and said that it is a completely unacceptable statement. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi was also seen criticizing Udhayanidhi’s statement. He said that Sanatan Dharma is a symbol of eternal truth – a way of life – wisdom and existence.

On the other hand, the issue has provided fuel to the BJP, which is already ambushing the opposition parties, to torch opposition unity. Union Home Minister Amit Shah lashed out against the India Alliance parties in a public meeting in Rajasthan. In another statement, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that India alliance party DMK has hurt Sanatan Dharma and Congress people have maintained silence. He questioned why Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge do not speak on this issue as to what their thinking is about Sanatan Dharma. Like the controversial statement given by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi about Modi, now this statement of Stalin has also come under the grip of law. An FIR has been registered against Udhayanidhi Stalin and Priyank Kharge, son of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. A complaint has been made in Rampur Kotwali Civil Lines about hurting religious sentiments. Apart from this, 262 eminent personalities of India have written a letter to Chief Justice Dhananjay Yashwant Chandrachud requesting him to take suo motu cognizance of the Udhayanidhi case. It is written in the letter that suo motu cognizance should be taken of the hate speech given by Udhayanidhi Stalin, which can incite communal disharmony and communal violence. These personalities include former High Court judges and bureaucrats.

Despite all these contradictory statements, Udhayanidhi Stalin is adamant on his statement. Due to this, a new political controversy continues in the country. This statement of Stalin is proving to be no less than a problem for the constituent parties of the opposition alliance India. Opposition parties are already facing the threat of vote bank polarization due to differing opinions on various issues. The opposition alliance is somehow trying to achieve unity amid mutual allegations and counter-allegations between India Congress, TMC, AAP and the Left parties. This statement of Stalin has dealt a blow to the efforts of this unity. Certainly, such sensitive statements affecting the sentiments of the majority population of the country will further increase the troubles of the alliance. If India’s constituent parties do not give up their efforts to strengthen the regional vote bank through such statements, it will be difficult to bridge the visible cracks in unity.

-Yogendra Yogi