Udhayanidhi clarifies stand on Sanatana

DMK youth wing leader and Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday said “destroying Sanatana” did not mean people should stop going to temples.

Reacting to the criticism of his speech in the Assembly where he had on Wednesday said, “Sanatana that divides people should be destroyed”, Mr. Udhayanidhi insisted that he would not be cowed down by such criticism. “The Dravidian movement faced opposition and emerged stronger,” he said.

Mr. Udhayanidhi said equal rights should be given to everyone, not only in temples but in society as a whole. “I only said what divides people into upper castes and lower castes should be destroyed. I merely echoed the views of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy [social reformer], B.R. Ambedkar [architect of the Indian Constitution], and C. N. Annadurai [former Chief Minister],” he said.