"Sanatana Dharma Should Be...": Udhayanidhi Stalin At It Again, BJP Hits Back

It is deja vu time in Tamil Nadu. Three years ago DMK leader and ex-deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin kicked up a row when he said: "... 'sanatana dharma' ought to be eradicated like malaria, dengue and mosquito and not opposed..."

The comment led to ferocious pushback from the BJP; in fact, such was the heat Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded and the Supreme Court was petitioned, though it later refused pleas seeking criminal charges against the younger Stalin.

On Tuesday afternoon Stalin junior - the son of party boss MK Stalin - kicked up that row again, by doubling down on 'sanatana dharma' and declaring in the Assembly "it must be eradicated."

The comment was made with the new chief minister - C Joseph Vijay - in the Assembly and in a speech in which Udhayanidhi Stalin was congratulating JCD Prabhakar on being elected as the new Speaker of the Assembly.

And the pushback was just as hard this time.

The BJP's Vanathi Srinivasan, a former MLA from the Coimbatore (South), accused the DMK leader of having 'failed to mend his ways' even after a thumping defeat last month. "The time for the people to set things right will come soon," she said on X.

"If eradicating 'sanatana dharma', i.e., Hinduism, is Udhayanidhi Stalin's and DMK's policy, then why wasn't it mentioned in their election manifesto? Why didn't Udhayanidhi Stalin speak about eradicating it during the election campaign?"

ஆட்சியிலிருந்து விரட்டியடிக்கப்பட்ட பிறகும் @Udhaystalin திருந்தவில்லை : மக்கள் திருத்தும் காலம் விரைவில் வரும்

தமிழ்நாடு சட்டமன்றத்தில் இன்று புதிய சபாநாயகராக தேர்வு செய்யப்பட்ட ஜே.சி.டி.பிரபாகர் அவர்களை வாழ்த்தி பேசிய எதிர்க்கட்சித் தலைவர் உதயநிதி ஸ்டாலின், "மக்களைப்…

— Vanathi Srinivasan (@VanathiBJP) May 12, 2026

Referring to speeches on the final day of campaigning - when DMK leader MK Stalin said 'we are not against Hindus' - Srinivasan said, "... but DMK made a habit of vilifying Hindu dharma. That's why the people didn't believe Stalin..."

The BJP's state unit, meanwhile, said it "strongly condemns Stalin's remark.

"Why didn't the DMK, the re-embodiment of the evil destroying Tamil, Tamils, and Tamil Nadu in the name of Dravidianism, say it should be eradicated when seeking votes during elections?"

கோடிக்கணக்கான இந்துக்களின் உணர்வுபூர்வமான வாழ்வியல் நெறியான சனாதன தர்மத்தை ஒழிக்க வேண்டுமென மதவெறுப்பு அரசியலைத் தூண்டும் வகையில் தமிழக சட்டசபையில் பேசிய சட்டமன்ற எதிர்கட்சித் தலைவர் திரு.@Udhaystalin அவர்களை வன்மையாக கண்டிக்கிறேன்.

திராவிடத்தின் பெயரால் தமிழையும்,… pic.twitter.com/XbmtXThr75

— H Raja (@HRajaBJP) May 12, 2026

However, the DMK's ex-ally, the Congress - which left the Tamil party's side this month to ally with Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam - has come out in defence. JMH Aassan Maulana, the former MLA from Chennai's Velacherry seat, insisted 'sanatana dharma' cannot prosper in the southern state, and he linked the remark to the TVK's big election win.

"Edappadi (Palaniswami, the AIADMK chief) is out; that means Narendra Modi is out... and that means 'sanatana dharma' in Tamil Nadu is already out. It will not prosper in Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is far ahead of all these things."

Meanwhile, the DMK has sought to placate criticism of Stalin's statements. "The point is... in Tamil Nadu, people equate 'sanatana dharma' with rigid caste hierarchy. That is why we say 'we don't want this...' DMK is against caste hierarchy... it should not be perpetuated. That is the point Stalin is making," spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai said.

Stalin's echoing of that remark has threatened to re-ignite the entire row.