'Sanatan Dharma' Remark Triggers FIR Plea Against Udhayanidhi Stalin; SC Seeks Responses From Minister And TN Govt

On Friday, the Supreme Court issued notifications in response to a request for the registration of an FIR against Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin regarding his comments concerning the "eradication of Sanatan Dharma." The highest court in the land has called upon both the minister and the Tamil Nadu government to provide their responses.

A bench composed of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi responded to the plea filed by B Jagannath by issuing these notifications. The plea contends that the remarks made by the Tamil Nadu minister could be classified as hate speech and calls for the filing of an FIR. The petitioner also observed that in similar instances, the Supreme Court has issued instructions, including the initiation of FIRs. Senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, who represents the petitioner, asserted that the minister purportedly encouraged school students to express favoritism towards one religion while disfavoring another.

Udhayanidhi Stalin, who serves as Tamil Nadu's Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs and is the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, was accused by the BJP of advocating for the elimination of Sanatan Dharma, the tenets of Hinduism, and likening it to diseases like "dengue, malaria, and Covid-19" during a press conference in Chennai.

Nevertheless, Udhayanidhi has denied advocating for any "genocide," as alleged by BJP leader Amit Malviya, and has maintained his assertion that Sanatan Dharma "divides people based on caste and religion" and needs to be "eradicated." In the meantime, the Maharashtra police have also initiated an FIR against the Tamil Nadu Minister due to his controversial statement.

Udhayanidhi has also been booked in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly offending religious sentiments. Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge's son and Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge were also implicated in the FIR for supporting Udhayanidhi's statements. They were charged with promoting hostility and offending religious sentiments. Another complaint has been lodged against Udhayanidhi in Bihar's Muzaffarpur before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court.