Shivraj slams Congress, INDIA bloc over Udhayanidhi’s Sanatan Dharma remarks

At a public rally in Mauganj, Mr. Chouhan said that a “nervous Congress” was now forming alliances with different parties as it knew it could not defeat the BJP.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday continued his attacks on the Congress and the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), saying that members of the bloc wanted to “eradicate” Sanatan Dharma, in a reference to the controversial remarks made by Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin in September.

At a public rally in Mauganj, Mr. Chouhan said that a “nervous Congress” was now forming alliances with different parties as it knew it could not defeat the BJP. “They formed the INDIA alliance and the people of this alliance are saying that Sanatan Dharma is malaria and dengue and we will have to eradicate it,” the BJP leader said, asking the crowd if the religion could be eradicated.

In September, Mr. Udhayanidhi, son of Tamil Nadu CM and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M. K. Stalin, had said while addressing a conference of progressive writers in Chennai, that Sanatan Dharma was like “dengue and malaria” and “needed to be eradicated”. “Such things should not be opposed, but destroyed,” he had said.

His remarks had triggered a political row, with several BJP leaders accusing him of calling for a “genocide of 80% of India’s population”. The Congress had to distance itself from Mr. Udhayanidhi’s remarks, with party spokesperson Pawan Khera saying that the party believed every religion and faith has their space, and no one could treat any particular faith as less than another.

Asking the public if they would let the Sanatan Dharma be eradicated, Mr. Chouhan said, “What will you do, Congressiyon (Congress leaders)? Many came and left but nobody could lift a finger at Sanatan.”

“On Durgashtami (eighth day of the Navaratri festival), it is our resolution that we will not forgive [those] who snatch the people’s rights,” Mr. Chouhan added.

While BJP leaders in the poll-bound State continue to appeal to the party’s core Hindutva voters, every now and then highlighting issues, including the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Congress has tried to play the “soft Hindutva” card through various promises, and reduce the polarisation of votes in the BJP’s favour.