Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday wondered if it was fair on Narendra Modi’s part to comment on the basis of “lies” being spread about his son Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks on “Sanatana Dharma”, and asked whether the Prime Minister was trying to “divert attention” from his failures.

Modi has been quoted as telling his council of ministers on Wednesday that the remarks of DMK youth wing leader and Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi “need a proper response” although the Prime Minister advised caution and asked his colleagues to stick to “constitutional facts”.

Clarity emerged on what the Prime Minister meant by his reference to “constitutional facts” at Wednesday’s meeting when BJP leader and former Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad displayed in Patna on Thursday what he said was the original copy of the statute, drew attention to the paintings of Hindu deities and went on to attack the
Congress.

“I ask Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge whether they decided to defame the Hindu faith at the meeting of their alliance in Mumbai,” Prasad said. “We will go to each and every village to reveal the real face of this alliance.”

Chief minister Stalin said Udhayanidhi had only highlighted the “inhuman principles” that had come to be associated with Sanatana Dharma and accused the BJP of being “desperate” to create divisions in the Opposition INDIA bloc.

“Pro-BJP forces have spread a false narrative alleging that Udhayanidhi had called for the genocide of people with Sanatana thoughts” and “Union ministers and BJP chief ministers have shared the same lie”, Stalin said.

“He expressed his views on Sanatana principles that discriminate against Scheduled Castes, tribals and women, with no intention to offend any religion or religious beliefs,” the chief minister added.

Stalin said it was “disheartening to hear” from national media reports that the Prime Minister had said that “Udhayanidhi’s remarks need a proper response”.

“The Hon. Prime Minister has access to all the resources to verify any claim or report. So, is the Hon. Prime Minister speaking unaware of the lies spread about Udhayanidhi, or does he do so knowingly?” Stalin asked.

The DMK president said he was dismayed by the threat issued by a “self-proclaimed seer” in Uttar Pradesh who has put a bounty on Udhayanidhi’s head. Stalin asked why the Uttar Pradesh government had not yet taken any action against the “seer” and had “instead filed cases against Udhayanidhi”.

Udhayanidhi, the minister for youth welfare and sports development, had at a conference organised on Saturday by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association said that “Sanatana Dharma is against the idea of social justice and must be eradicated”.

Udhayanidhi said in a statement on Thursday: “...Thiru Modi and Co are solely dependent on such slanders to face the parliamentary elections. On the one hand, I can only feel sorry for them. For the last 9 years, Modi has been doing nothing. Occasionally he demonetises money, builds walls to hide huts, builds a new Parliament building, erects a sengol (sceptre) there, plays around by changing the name of the country...”

Stalin referred to Modi’s comments on a video clip purporting to show Tamil Nadu minister E.V. Velu speaking about a separate Dravidian state. Modi had dubbed Velu’s alleged comments as secessionist.

Stalin said Modi had spoken “without knowing the truth” and asked whether the Prime Minister, after having failed to fulfil the BJP’s poll promises in the past nine years, was “attempting to divert attention” by referring to Sanatana Dharma.

While neither the Prime Minister nor his ministers have responded to the crisis in Manipur or the irregularities to the tune of Rs 7.50 lakh crore highlighted by CAG reports on the performance of various Union ministries, Stalin wondered why the cabinet meeting on Wednesday had discussed Sanatana Dharma. “Can these leaders truly protect the backward castes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women?” he asked.

Stalin sought to know whether the Prime Minister had an answer to the views expressed on Wednesday by Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Babasaheb Ambedkar, that “Sanatana Dharma believes in untouchability. How can we accept Sanatana Dharma?”

Stalin claimed that Modi was so rattled by the formation of the INDIA bloc that he was raking up the “one nation, one election” issue “out of fear”.

“It doesn’t take a political genius to recognise this as a political gimmick,” the chief minister said.

‘Venomous’ sadhu

Acharya Satyendra Das, chief priest of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, has condemned Paramhans Das for his threat to Udhayanidhi and said whatever “the venomous self-styled sadhu” has said was “anti-Hindu”.

Additional reporting by Piyush Srivastava and PTI