The Supreme Court on Monday slammed DMK leader and Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin for his comments on Sanatana Dharma and said as a minister he should know what the consequences of what he says will be.
The Supreme Court told Stalin’s lawyer, “You are not a common man. You are a minister. You should know the consequences.”
“You abuse your rights under the right to freedom of speech and expression and religious freedom and then come to the Supreme Court for protection under Article 32?” The top court asked the lawyer.
Stalin moved the apex court seeking clubbing of multiple FIRs filed against him in several states over his comments.
The top court has adjourned the hearing on the petition to March 15.
Stalin’s sharp comments against Sanatana Dharma caused an uproar across the country, as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son compared it to a disease.
“What is Sanatanam? Its name itself is derived from Sanskrit. Sanatan is against equality and social justice and nothing else. What is the meaning of Sanatan? It is eternal, i.e. it cannot be changed; no one questions it Can lift and this is the meaning.” He alleged that Sanatan divided people on the basis of caste.
He further said, “Some things cannot be opposed, they must be eliminated. We cannot oppose dengue, mosquito, malaria or corona, we have to eliminate it, similarly we have to eliminate Sanatan.
Following heavy criticism from opposition parties who accused him of inciting genocide, he said that uprooting Sanatan Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality.
Udhayanidhi Stalin wrote in a message on To throw is to preserve humanity and human equality.” In September 2023.