Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who triggered a massive political controversy with his remarks equating “Sanatana Dharma” with dengue, malaria and corona and called for its “eradication”, Monday twitted a picture of a mosquito repellent coil. His post on X, formerly twitter, apparently refers to his “Sanatana” remarks as the diseases dengue and malaria are caused by mosquito bite.

The latest post indicates that the DMK leader is not going to stop even as the BJP is planning to ramp up its attack on the Opposition over the issue. The saffron party came down heavily on Stalin junior as well as the Opposition’s INDIA bloc. The BJP questioned INDIA bloc’s silence over Udhayanidhi’s remarks and asked if it was part of its strategy to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the elections.

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The Stalin’s party DMK is part of the INDIA alliance. According to reports, the “Sanatana Dharma” row is not over yet and the BJP is planning to launch coordinated attack on the Opposition during its election campaign in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh where Assembly Polls will be held later this year.

pic.twitter.com/Xvud6n36J3

— Udhay (@Udhaystalin) September 11, 2023

What did Udhayanidhi Stalin say?

Earlier this month, speaking at a conference organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Artists Association in Chennai, Udhayanidhi said, “Few things cannot be opposed, they should be eradicated. We can’t oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria or corona, we have to eradicate them. In the same way, we have to eradicate Sanatana (Sanatan Dharma), rather than opposing it.”

The BJP was quick to react and accused the DMK leader of calling for the genocide of 80 per cent of India’s population that follows Sanatana Dharma.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also reacted to the remark and reportedly told his council of ministers to give “proper response” to Udhaynidhi’s remark. However, in view of the G20 Summit, the BJP shifted its focus in highlighting the event. Now that the G20 Summit is over, the “Sanatana Dharma” issue is to resurface in most of BJP’s election campaigns once again.