‘DMK stands for dengue, malaria…’: BJP to Stalin, Udhayanidhi on Sanatan Dharma row

After Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin threw his weight behind his son and Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin over the Sanatan Dharma row, Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai issued a video and said DMK stands for dengue, malaria and kosu (mosquito) and they need to be eradicated.

“We know the DMK drama. In the first year of your power, you oppose the Sanatan Dharma, in the second year, you say abolish Sanatan Dharma. In the third year, you want to root out Sanatan Dharma. But the fourth year, you say you are a Hindu and 90% of your members are Hindu.

The fifth year, you say you are also a Hindu. Tamil Nadu has seen this drama for many many decades. When the election comes, you become Amar, Akbar, Anthony which Mr Rahul Gandhi has been doing unsuccessfully for the last 17 years. He becomes Amar in one state, Akbar in another state and Anthony in another said. In 2024, DMK will be wiped out. I am not saying it. Your son said it because DMK’s D stands for dengue, M for malaria and K for kosu,” Annamalai said.

“Both of you have toned down in your statements because you know you are fighting a lost battle. But you have spoken some lies about PM Modi ji. It is my duty to respond to that. PM Modi is busy so please don’t bother PM Modi to respond to your unfounded, false and diabolical allegations,” Annamalai said accusing DMK of practising casteism.

Sanatan Dharma row: Udhayanidhi’s latest statement

Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin whose comparison between Sanatan Dharma with dengue, malaria triggered a massive political row issued a fresh statement on Thursday and said he would fight all the legal cases against him with the guidance of the party leadership. “It is the seers who need a lot of publicity today. One such a seer has jumped in and put a price of ₹10 crore on my head. What surprises me more than the price on my head is how can someone who claimed to have renounced everything has ₹10 crore,” Udhayanidhi said marvelling at the reaction to his statement. The seer he mentioned is Ayodhya’s Paramhans Acharya.

Ever since the beginning of the row, Udhayanidhi stood by his comment and explained that he is not against the Hindu religion but the caste-based society propagated by Sanatan. He steered clear of the ‘genocide’ row and said he never called for genocide.

Sanatan row: What MK Stalin said

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin reacted to the row for the first time on Thursday and said it is disheartening to see PM Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah attack Udhayanidhi without knowing what he actually said. “If the BJP believes they can tarnish the reputation of a longstanding party like the DMK, they will find themselves sinking in that quicksand,” Stalin wrote in his statement.

‘Isn’t Udhayanidhi Stalin a practising Christian’: Annamalai

In his riposte video, Annamalai said Udhayanidhi claimed to be a practising Christian in 2022. “Now he says he doesn’t have any faith over it. Your ideologue, Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani says Sanatan Dharma is Hinduism. Can you give a condemnation statement against him saying that Sanatan Dharma is not Hinduism?” Annamalai said.