'Request You To Advise...': Annamalai Tells CM Stalin After He Dismisses Sanatan Row As 'Diversion Tactic'

Tamil Nadu CM Stalin suggested DMK tone down on the Sanatan Dharma row, claiming that the issue was being used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP as a “diversion tactic.”

Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai

New Delhi: Hitting back at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin over his suggestion to the DMK cadres to refrain from commenting on the Sanatan Dharma controversy, state BJP chief K Annamalai on Saturday said the former should also advise the members in the I.N.D.I.A bloc to stop using the issue as a poll plank or brace themselves for the “greatest defeat” any party has faced in the history of a democracy, news agency ANI reported.

Annamalai’s remarks come a few days after the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister suggested his party tone down on the Sanatan Dharma row, claiming that the issue was being used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP as a “diversion tactic.”

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), CM Stalin posted, “While the Prime Minister remains silent on everyday issues impacting the common man, his cabinet focuses on Sanatan Dharma by spreading false narratives and fuelling it with support from a few media outlets. I urge our DMK leaders and cadre not to react to such diversion tactics and to continue posing questions to the BJP on Manipur Violence, Adani Hindenburg, a whopping 7.50 lakh crore rupees flagged in the CAG report and other pressing issues, along with highlighting 9-year failures of the BJP. We will keep on posing questions, and so will INDIA.”

While the Prime Minister remains silent on everyday issues impacting the common man, his cabinet focuses on #SanatanaDharma by spreading false narratives and fuelling it with support from a few media outlets.

I urge our DMK leaders and cadre not to react to such diversion… pic.twitter.com/rb63UfbWSl

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) September 13, 2023

Responding to Stalin’s post, Annamalai said since his party has learned a “hard lesson” that bringing up Sanatan Dharma would touch a raw nerve, the DMK should also advise the other parties in the Opposition alliance to stop using this subject as a poll plank.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Annamalai said, “I would like to make an appeal to my friends from DMK that since you have learned a very hard lesson now, touching Sanatana Dharma will backfire on you very badly. I request you, advise your I.N.D.I.A partners also that if you have this evil design to take Sanatan Dharma as a poll plank, you will see the greatest defeat that any alliance or any single party has faced in a democracy.”

#WATCH | Tamil Nadu BJP State President K Annamalai says, "After facing a massive backlash from our country, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has conveniently given a statement saying that nobody in DMK should talk about Sanatana Dharma... The coordinated attack by the INDI… pic.twitter.com/EvRL6sNcDh

— ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2023

He also referred to Bihar education minister Chandra Shekhar’s recent remark where the latter compared Ramcharitmanas, a Hindu religious book based on the epic Ramayana, to potassium cyanide.

“After facing a massive backlash from our country, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has conveniently given a statement saying that nobody in DMK should talk about Sanatana Dharma. The coordinated attack by the I.N.D.I.A bloc for the last two years is part of a larger conspiracy. The bloc was formed only for petty political reasons. They were forced to cancel their joint rally in Madhya Pradesh because the people of the country had read through their design,” Annamalai told ANI.

“Bihar education minister and a senior RJD Leader, Chandra Shekhar went one step ahead by projecting the Ramcharitmanas in a very bad light in a very distasteful remark. Each leader (in the Opposition) is continuously competing with each other to insult the Hindu religion. It’s as if they are trying to ace the competition,” the Tamil Nadu BJP chief added.