INDIA's win must or country will turn into Manipur, Haryana: TN CM Stalin

While the controversy over Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks on "Sanatana Dharma" snowballed into a big political squabble, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President M K Stalin said that the INDIA alliance must win to prevent the whole of India from becoming Manipur and Haryana, referring to the violence in the north-eastern state since May this year and the recent communal clashes in Haryana.

In his first episode of the 'Speaking for India' podcast series, Stalin attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for their 'politics of diversion'. Stalin launched the podcasts as a part of his campaign against the BJP-led Union government.

Alleging that the BJP riles up communalism to cover up issues like airports and seaports being handed over to friendly corporations and Air India being sold to a private player, the DMK chief extolled the people to create a diverse and multicultural India.

Referring to the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Tamil Nadu chief minister said that "hatred sown in Gujarat 2002" has led to ethnic violence in Manipur and communal clashes in Haryana in 2023.

Stalin also stated that DMK has always been at the forefront whenever there's a threat to federalism.

Warning that "nobody can save India if this is not stopped now", Stalin said that the INDIA bloc was created to fight for social justice, federalism, secularism, and social harmony.

He also said PM Modi lied about the "Gujarat Model" and would leave the country's highest office with "no significant model to call his own". "It has become a rudderless model and there are no tall claims about the once-famous Gujarat model either, especially after we listed the achievements of the Dravidian Model in Tamil Nadu with statistical proof," Stalin said.

BJP's response

The BJP responded by saying that it is the DMK that divides the country along religious and linguistic divisions. Mocking the DMK, Tamil Nadu BJP Vice President Narayanan Tirupati said he is "glad that at least now MK Stalin accepts India as one nation".

Udhayanidhi Stalin's comments on "Sanatana Dharma"

The podcast was released as the row over his son and state minister Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks intensified. Udhayanidhi on September 2 had equated "Sanatana" Dharma with "dengue and malaria". At a writers' conference in Chennai, Udhayanidhi Stalin had said the idea of "Sanatana Dharma is against the idea of social justice and must be eradicated".

Union Home Minister Amit Shah went on the attack on BJP's behalf, slamming Udhayanidhi Stalin for his comments. Shah claimed that the INDIA front "hates Hinduism" and that Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks were part of the INDIA bloc's "vote bank politics" and "appeasement" tactic.

Udhayanidhi Stalin later accused the BJP of twisting his statement and spreading fake news while adding that he was ready to face whatever cases were filed against him.