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Sarma dares Rahul Gandhi to break association with the DMK for disparage remarks on Sanatan Dharma
NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said he doesn’t feel any need to condemn the controversial remark on Sanatan Dharma by his Tamil Nadu counterpart’s son, because it had “exposed” the DMK.
He was responding to DMK leader Udhaynidhi Stalin’s call for eradicating Sanatan Dharma which he compared with “dengue” and “mosquitoes”. Speaking to reporters in Guwahati, Sarma – the Hindutva poster boy in the northeast – described Stalin’s remark as “anti-Hindu”. He also attacked Congress MP Karti Chidambaram for supporting the DMK leader.
READ MORE: After Stalin, D Raja attacks Sanatan, calls it’ patriarchal’ ‘inequal’
“The question is whether the Congress party will still be in alliance with DMK. Whether Congress will expel Karti Chidambaram or not. This is a test for Rahul Gandhi. He has to make a decision whether he respects Sanatan Dharma or not,” he said.
Sarma, who parted ways with Congress alleging that Gandhi was not ready to listen to his grievances in 2015, said that the newly-formed INDIA alliance, which the DMK is a part of, is “anti-Hindu”.
“I don’t want to get into whether Sanatan Dharma is good or bad. It has been there for 5000 years and will remain so till the Sun and Moon continue to shine on this planet,” Sarma told reporters.
Speaking at the Sanatana Abolition Conference, Udhayanidhi on Saturday said that Sanatana Dharma should not just be opposed, but “eradicated”. Despite a huge backlash, Udhayanidhi has refused to budge and vowed to defend himself in the court of law.
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Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary D Raja claimed that Sanatan Dharma – a phrase used to describe an inclusive and nature-oriented way of living practiced in India for centuries – promotes inequality, casteism, and is patriarchal. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is eying to ensure a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has lapped up the opportunity to attack the INDIA bloc for its “politics of vote bank and appeasement”.
“Two major parties of INDIA Alliance, DMK and Congress have insulted the history and culture of this country. They have insulted Sanatan Dharma in the past two days. They have called for the eradication of Sanatan Dharma,” Union home minister Amit Shah told a rally.
