PM Modi has used religion as weapon: MK Stalin at ‘Speaking for India’ Podcast

MK Stalin, chief minister of Tamil Nadu, on Monday launched the podcast episode in four different languages – Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi. In his 8-minute address to the nation, taking a dig at Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), Stalin claimed that BJP didn’t fulfil any pre-poll commitments regarding social welfare in its last nine years at the Centre.

CM also stated that ₹15 lakh each were not deposited in all citizens’ accounts as promised, farmers’ incomes didn’t double, two crore jobs per year were promised but didn’t happen, the Chief Minister said in an all-out attack on the BJP-led Centre.

Adding to this, Stalin said, “BJP is trying to damage the basic structure of India and trying to destroy the sense of unity that Indians have cherished and protected for so long.” He also accused BJP for using religion as its weapon to hide their shortcomings.

CM Stalin further alleged that BJP sowed the seeds of violence and hatred in Gujarat in 2002 and 21 years later, the sectarian fire ignited in Manipur saw the state burn, while the fire of religious fanaticism is claiming lives and property of innocent people of India.

While speaking at the podcast, he also flagged off the low allocation of funds to the state.

It is to be noted here that first podcast episode has been released amid outrage over a statement by the DMK chief’s son and minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, equating ‘Sanatan Dharma’ with ‘mosquitoes, Dengue, Malaria, fever, and Corona’.

Addressing a conference in Chennai, Udhayanidhi said, “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 word Sanatana, derived from Sanskrit, is against social justice and equality,” he had claimed.

The remarks drew saffron ire, with BJP national president JP Nadda on Sunday questioning if the statement of the Tamil Nadu minister was consistent with the position of the INDIA bloc vis-a-vis ‘Sanatan Dharma’.