TN BJP Delegation Meets Governor Ravi; Asks Him To Instruct DGP To File FIR Against Udhayanidhi Stalin For 'Hate Speech' On Sanatana Dharma

A group of senior leaders of the Tamil Nadu unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today (7 September) met Governor RN Ravi and submitted a memorandum asking him to intervene and get a case filed against Udhayanidhi Stalin for his 'hate speech' calling for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma, as per the Supreme Court guidelines.

The party also sought his intervention for the dismissal of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HRCE) minister P Sekar Babu, saying that by participating in a conference to eradicate Sanatana Dharma, he had violated the oath of office.

BJP state vice president Karu Nagarajan, state secretary Ashvathaman, SC wing president Tada Periyasami and Spiritual Wing president M Nachiappan were among the leaders who submitted the memorandum.

A copy of the letters submitted by the delegation was shared by Annamalai. It mentioned that before Udhayanidhi's speech, Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) leader K Veeramani at the same conference had said that Sanatana Dharma and Hinduism are the same.

Referring to Udhayanidhi's statements stating that he would not apologise for his remarks and he was speaking along the lines of Dravidian ideologue EV Ramasamy, the BJP letter quotes a letter written by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the then Chief Minister K Kamaraj, stating, "I am much distressed by the anti-Brahmin campaign continuously carried on by E.V. Ramaswami Naicker. I wrote to you I think about this some time ago, and I was told that this matter was under consideration.

"I find that Ramaswami Naicker is going on saying the same thing again and calling upon people at the right time to start stabbing and killing. What he says can only be said by a criminal or a lunatic. I do not know him adequately to be able to decide what he is, but one thing is clear to me that this kind of thing has a very demoralising effect on the country."

Further, the letter written by the BJP states, "Your Excellency, how is the call for Stabbing and Killing one section of the society any different from the call for the Eradication of Entire Sanatana Dharma? By saying that he is following the footsteps of EV Ramasamy, is Thiru Udhayanidhi Stalin recommending people to stab and kill practitioners of Sanatana Dharma?"

It then mentions the Supreme Court guidelines asking states to act on hate speech without waiting for a complaint and says that the Tamil Nadu police had not taken action against Udhayanidhi in spite of the party filing hundreds of complaints in police stations across Tamil Nadu.

"On April 28 2023, our Honourable Supreme Court directed states to Suo-Moto register FIRS on hate speech incidents and proceed against offenders without wanting someone to lodge a complaint.

"As per the Supreme Court guidelines, the hate speech will attract offences under 153A, 153B, 295A and 505 of the IPC. However, the Tamil Nadu Police has not acted on this hate Speech of Thiru Udhayanidhi Stalin.

"In our country, people who worship family deities, Guardian deities, Saivaites, Vaishnavites, Practitioners of Shaktisms and Smarthism are deeply hurt by the call for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma and on their behalf, BJP Tamil Nadu has registered more than a hundred complaints across various police stations across Tamil Nadu. Unfortunately, the Police department hasn't filed a single FIR on this matter."

"Thiru Udhayanidhi Stalin has deliberately disturbed peace and tranquillity in Tamil Nadu and has to be dealt with in the same manner as every citizen of this country but is safeguarded by the police from action due to the privilege of being the son of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

"Your Excellency, we request you to kindly instruct the DGP of the state to action on the complaints immediately, FIR be filed, and action be taken as per the guidelines laid by the Honourable Supreme Court of India."

The letter also mentioned the remarks of a Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) functionary saying that if police protection was not there, they would have demolished the Sankara Mutt in Kanchipuram. It stated that this was the after-effect of the conference to eradicate Sanatana Dharma.

Also Read: 'Sekar Babu Should Step Down As HRCE Minister For Being Silent During Udhayanidhi Stalin's Remarks On Sanatana Dharma', Says Annamalai

262 Eminent Persons Write To CJI Chandrachud Asking Him To Take Cognisance Of Udhayanidhi Stalin's Remarks On Sanatana Dharma