Wading into the continuing political firestorm over DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks, equating Sanatan Dharma with “mosquitoes, dengue, malaria, fever and corona”, BJP leader Bandi Sanjay Kumar said the controversy has pushed the Congress into a helpless state where it cannot outrightly condemn the statement.
Addressing a seminar in Chennai earlier, the DMK leader had called for ‘Sanatan’ to be ‘eradicated’ and not just ‘opposed’.
The DMK and the Congress are not only allies in the ruling coalition in Tamil Nadu but are also partners in the Opposition bloc — the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
Speaking to ANI on Sunday, the BJP leader and former Telangana state chief said, “The Congress has double standards on religion. It had earlier suspended a party leader for speaking against a particular religion. It had made the Congress. However, when a leader from its ally railed against Sanatan Dharma, they couldn’t find a single word to condemn it.”
Claiming that the Congress was incapable of responding to an insult of the majority community because of its political compulsions, the BJP national general secretary said, “The Congress is indulging in minority appeasement. It is incapable of coming out in protest when the religious sentiments of the majority community are insulted and hurt.”
On the inaugural meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) in Hyderabad, Sanjay Kumar alleged that the party doesn’t have faith in its own leaders which is why the phones of their leaders were taken away before the meeting to prevent internal squabbles from tumbling out in the open.
“The Congress is riddled with scams. It does not have faith in its own leaders. The phones of Congress leaders were taken away to prevent uncomfortable truths about internal squabbles from coming out in the open. The BJP and the majority community will oppose any attempt to tarnish or insult the Sanatan Dharma, in a democratic manner,” he added.
Taking a strong exception to Udhaynidhi’s statement, BJP leaders and seers had earlier demanded that he take back his words and issue an apology.