“Such people should get out of their colonial mindset”: VHP leader hits out at Udhayanidhi over ‘Sanatan’ rant

Ghaziabad: Senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader, Vijay Shankar Tiwari, on Sunday condemned DMK leader and minister Udhayanidhi Stalin's rant against Sanatan Dharma, saying that the likes of him need to shed their "colonial mindset".
Addressing a conference on Saturday, Udhayanidhi, the minister for Sports and Youth Affairs in the Tamil Nadu government, equated 'Sanatana' (Sanatan Dharma) with "mosquitoes, Dengue, Malaria, fever and Corona", adding that it should be stamped out like these ailments.
Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Tiwari, the VHP central joint secretary, said, "Such people should get out of their colonial mindset. 'Sanatana' means one which is eternal. It has grown through the ages and will continue to evolve."
Railing against Sanatan Dharma in Chennai on Saturday, Udhayanidhi said, "Few things cannot be opposed, they should only be abolished. 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 merely opposing Sanatana, it should be eradicated."
In a scathing retort, Hindu Mahasabha president Swami Chakrapani dragged the Opposition alliance — INDIA — to the controversy, saying, "Sanatana Dharma' has existed for centuries and will live on in the hearts and minds of the followers. The leaders in the INDIA bloc are not just fighting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi but against the Sanatana Dharma itself. Their objective is to finish off our Sanatana Dharma. We never speak against his (Udhayanidhi's) political ideology or beliefs. We don't comment on Christianity or Islam. So, why are they targeting 'Hindu Sanatana'?”
Spiritual leader Ravindrapuri, president of Akhada Parishad, Haridwar, demanded that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Udhayanidhi's father, MK Stalin, remove him from the cabinet in light of his remarks.
“His statement is condemnable. Sanatan is ancient, it is eternal. This statement is merely aimed at vote-bank politics. We, at the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad, would urge CM Stalin to dismiss such ministers at the earliest. The word 'Udhaya' in his name is synonymous with the word 'Prarambh' (to begin), which is another name for Sanatan Dharma. So, by his own argument, he should first change his name," the spiritual leader said.
Also lashing out at the DMK leader over his remarks, Acharya Satyendra Das, a spiritual guru, told ANI, "'Sanatana Dharma' cannot be eradicated. It has existed for centuries and will continue to. He (Udhayanidhi Stalin) does not understand the real meaning of 'Sanatana Dharma'. Whatever he said is absolutely wrong."
Earlier, BJP's Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai tore into the DMK leader over his statement, accusing him of peddling a "bought-out idea from Christian missionaries".
Annamalai took to his official handle on X to post, "The only resolve that the Gopalapuram Family has is to accumulate wealth beyond the State GDP. Thiru @Udhaystalin, you, your father, or his or your idealogue have a bought-out idea from Christian missionaries & the idea of those missionaries was to cultivate ******* like you to parrot their malicious ideology."