Meanwhile, over 260 eminent citizens, including former judges and bureaucrats, wrote to the CJI urging him to take cognisance of the remark.
Published Sep 05, 2023 | 4:42 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 05, 2023 | 4:44 PM
Udhayanidhi Stalin at the anti-NEET protests in Chennai on Sunday, 20 August, 2023. (Udhaystalin/Twitter)
Keeping the heat on the Opposition over Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Sanatana Dharma remark, the BJP on Tuesday, 5 September, likened the Tamil Nadu youth welfare minister’s controversial comments to Hitler’s characterisation of the Jews.
“Uday Stalin’s meditated comment is unadulterated hate speech and a call for genocide of 80 per cent population of Bharat, who follow Sanatan Dharma. Congress and I.N.D.I Alliance support for Stalin’s bile is most disconcerting,” the BJP posted on X.
Meanwhile, over 260 citizens, including former judges and bureaucrats, wrote to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud urging him to take cognizance of Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remark.
The saffron party alleged that there is an eerie similarity between how Hitler characterised the Jews and how Udhayanidhi Stalin described Sanatana Dharma.
“Like Hitler, Stalin Jr also demanded, that Sanatan Dharma be eradicated We know how Nazi hate culminated in Holocaust, killing approx 6 million European Jews and at least another 5 million Soviet prisoners of war and other victims,” it said.
In a letter to the CJI, the signatories, including former Delhi HC judge SN Dhingra, said not only did Udhayanidhi Stalin make a hate speech but he refused to apologise for his remarks.
The letter by 262 people said the undersigned are deeply concerned over the remarks made by Stalin and that these remarks undeniably amount to “hate speech” against a large population of India and strike at the very core of the Constitution of India which envisages Bharat as a secular nation.
The letter said action is needed in order to preserve the secular character of the country.
Any delay on the part of the administration in taking action on “very serious issues” will invite the court’s contempt, it said.
The letter said the state government had refused to take action and allegedly acted in contempt of the court’s orders and “gravely undermined or rather made a mockery of the rule of law”.
“We urge the Supreme Court to take the suo moto notice of contempt, ensuring accountability for the inaction of the State Government of Tamil Nadu, and take decisive steps to prevent the inducement of hate speech, preserving public order and peace and we request you to take immediate appropriate actions.
“We sincerely hope for the thoughtful consideration of our plea and implore immediate measures to ensure justice and the rule of law to prevail,” it said.
In his address at a meeting of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association in Chennai last week, the DMK leader likened Sanatana Dharma to coronavirus, malaria and dengue and said such things should not be opposed but destroyed.
He, however, claimed later that he had not called for violence against the followers of Sanatana Dharma.
“Sanatana Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatana Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality,” he alleged while reiterating his remarks against Sanatana Dharma, a term used by many Hindus to describe their religion.
