NEW DELHI: Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Sunday dismissed allegations that Tamil Nadu is “hostile” to Sanatan Dharma, contending instead that people in the state are “more Hindu than North Indians.”The BJP has frequently accused the Congress, its ally the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu, and their other INDIA bloc partners of being “anti-Sanatan Dharma.” The political attack stems from controversial past remarks by Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK supremo MK Stalin. Udhyanidhi now serves as the state’s deputy chief minister.“What is Sanatan? That is not a term anyone in Tamil Nadu uses… We are more Hindu than North Indians. Per square kilometre, we have more temples. We break more coconuts every day. I personally visit more temples than many people in the BJP combined,” Chidambaram told ANI.“There isn’t a single day that I step out of my house without applying vibhuti or kundalama. ‘Sanatan Dharma’ is not a phrase we use,” he added.Addressing the controversy sparked in 2023 by remarks from Udhayanidhi Stalin, the Sivaganga MP attributed the uproar to “differing interpretations” of the term.“This issue became controversial because Udhayanidhi Stalin made a comment about the term. In Tamil Nadu, it is understood to refer to caste hierarchy—that’s how it is commonly interpreted here. He was speaking about caste hierarchy, not about the practice of the Hindu faith,” Chidambaram stated.In 2023, Udhayanidhi had likened “Sanatana” to diseases such as malaria and dengue, saying it should be “eradicated” rather than merely opposed, triggering a nationwide political debate.He had remarked, “Sanatana is like malaria and dengue, and therefore it must be eradicated, not just opposed. I thank the organisers for naming this event the ‘Sanatana Abolition Conference’ instead of the ‘Anti-Sanatana Conference.’ Some things cannot simply be opposed; they must be abolished. We don’t oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria, or corona—we eradicate them. In the same way, Sanatana should be eradicated rather than opposed.”Tamil Nadu is set to hold assembly elections in April. Although the Congress is an ally of the DMK, it is not part of the state government, in line with the prevailing political practice in the southern state.
