Amid the Sanatana Dharma row, DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin and Congress national chief Mallikarjun Kharges son Priyank Kharge have been booked for allegedly outraging religious feelings, said police on Wednesday.Case filed against Udhayanidhi Stalin, Priyank Kharge over Sanatana Dharma rowAn FIR was lodged against Stalin for his call to eradicate Sanatana Dharma and Priyank Kharge for backing his remark.An FIR was registered against Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin & Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge in Uttar Pradeshs Rampur over Sanatan Dharma remarks after a complaint from Advocates.— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2023A case has been registered against the two leaders under relevant sections of IPC such as 95 A (deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings) and 153 A (promoting enmity between different religious groups) at Civil Lines Police Station in Uttar Pradeshs Rampur on Tuesday.This FIR came after a complaint filed by two lawyers Harsh Gupta and Ram Singh Lodhi who highlighted media reports on Stalins statement alleging that the politicians comments had hurt their feelings.Stalin cites example of Mahabharata in his Teachers Day speechOn Tuesday, MK Stalins son Udhayanidhi referred to the story of Dronacharya and his treatment of Ekalavya from the Mahabharata citing as an example of discrimination.In an indirect reference to the Mahabharata, he said in his Teachers Day message, “The bond between our Dravidian movement and teachers who preach virtue without asking for thumbs will continue forever.”According to Hindu mythology, Ekalavya was denied archery lessons by Dronacharya because of his lower caste. But he practised archery on his own and became a skilled archer, even better than Dronacharyas student, Arjuna. After learning about this, angry Dronacharya demanded Ekalavyas thumb as a gift to his guru, and Ekalavya obeyed, which made him incapable of doing archery.He said, “Teachers always think of future generations.”How Sanatana Dharma row startThis row started when Stalin linked Sanatana Dharma with malaria and dengue while calling for its eradication earlier this month. The DMK leader argued that Sanatana Dharma is based on the caste system and discrimination.“Rather than opposing Sanatana, it should be eradicated. The name Sanatana is from Sanskrit. It is against social justice and equality,” the Tamil Nadu minister said.This remark then ended up in a massive controversy at the national level. However, Udhayanidhi Stalin still stood for his words. He said that he never called for the genocide of people who are following Sanatana Dharma. He also added that some elements have distorted his words.“Sanatana Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatana Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality. I stand firmly by every word I have spoken,” he added.
