Yogi Adityanath said Sanatan Dharma is the ‘Rashtriya’ religion of Bharat and nobody can question it’s perpetuity.

Indore (MP): Amid the ongoing row over comments by DMK leaders calling for the “eradication” of Sanatan Dharma, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said Sanatan Dharma is the “Rashtriya” (national) religion” of Bharat and it was unfortunate that some Indians still insist the religion which has been under attack since ancient times.

“Sanatan Dharma is the Rashtriya dharma (national religion) of Bharat. No one can question its perpetuity,” the UP chief minister said at the unveiling ceremony of Dhwajstambh (flagstaff) at Nath temple in Indore.

Adityanath’s comments come against the backdrop of controversial remarks against Sanatan Dharma by DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin who equated it to contagious diseases like malaria, dengue, and Covid, and called for “eradication” of the ideology.

Adityanath said it was unfortunate that some people living in India are still insulting the Sanatan Dharma which has been attacked since ancient times, adding that it was “unfortunate” that many people living in the country still try to humiliate Sanatan Dharma.

“It is unfortunate that even today many people living in Bharat are humiliating Sanatan Dharma. They do not miss any opportunity to attack Indian values, ideals and principles,” Adityanath said.

The firebrand leader said that like Sanatan Dharma which has been facing attacks since ancient times, the existence and reality of God too has been questioned.

“Even Ravan had also tried to attack the reality of God but what was the result? Ravan was destroyed by his ego,” he said.

Adityanath said Mughal ruler Babar had tried to demolish the temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, but a grand temple is being constructed at Ram Janmabhoomi after 500 years.

He said “Hindu” is not a religious word but it is a cultural identity of Indians. “Unfortunately, some people have tried to bring the Hindu identity within a narrow ambit”.

Amid a political debate over “Bharat vs India”, the BJP leader said the country has been addressed as Bharat since ancient times and its citizens have been called “Hindus”.

“When Muslims from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh go to Mecca for performing Haj, they are addressed as Hindus in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Adityanath praised British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who recently visited India to participate in the G20 summit, for proudly flaunting his Hindu identity.

“Sunak says he is proud to be a Hindu. He has no hesitation in going to the temple, worshipping Gau Mata (cow), sitting in the presence of sants (saints) and saying Jai Shri Ram and Jai Siya Ram because his heritage is linked to the sanskara (values) and roots of the Sanatana Dharma”, he added.

The Sanatan Dharma row

Udhayanidhi Stalin, the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, recently sparked a massive row as he equated Sanatan Dharma with contagious diseases like dengue, malaria and Covid-19, Speaking at a ‘Sanatana Abolition Conference’, Udhayanidhi compared Sanatan Dharma to viral diseases and asserted that the ideology must not only be opposed, but “eradicated”.

He is Udhayanidhi Stalin

He is son of Tamilnadu Chief Minister Stalin & also a minister in Tamil Nadu’s DMK govt

He has equated Sanatana Dharma to diseases like malaria and dengue

What does he mean by it? Is he conspiring to ki!l Hindus?

Will he be arrested? pic.twitter.com/kxADZ426d5

— Mahesh Vikram Hegde 🇮🇳 (@mvmeet) September 2, 2023

“Few things cannot be opposed, that should be abolished only. We can’t oppose Dengue, Mosquitoes, Malaria, or Corona, we have to eradicate this that’s how we have to eradicate Sanatana. Rather opposing Sanatana it should be eradicated,” the Tamil Nadu Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development told the gathering, according to news agency ANI.

A Raja, another DMK leader, likened Sanatan Dharma to diseases such as leprosy. A former minister during the UPA regime, Raja also said Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remark was soft.

(With PTI inputs)