New Delhi: Member of Parliament Karti Chidambaram India on Sunday dismissed allegations that Tamil Nadu is “hostile” to Sanatan Dharma and claimed that people in the state are “more Hindu than North Indians”.The BJP has often accused the Congress, its ally the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu and other Indian bloc partners of being “anti-Sanathan Dharma”. The political attack stems from past controversial remarks Udayanidhi StalinSon of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo MK Stalin. Udyanidi is currently the deputy chief minister of the state.“What is Sanatan? No one in Tamil Nadu would use this term… We are more Hindu than North Indian. We have more temples per square kilometer. We break more coconuts every day. I personally have visited more temples than many people in the BJP combined. “Chidambaram told ANI.“I apply vibhuti or kundalama every day when I step out of my house. ‘Sanatan Dharma’ is not a phrase we use,” he added.Talking about the controversy over Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks in 2023, the Sivaganga MP attributed the uproar to “different interpretations” of the term.“The issue is controversial because Udhayanidhi Stalin made comments about the word. In Tamil Nadu, it is understood to refer to caste hierarchy – that is the common interpretation here. He was talking about caste hierarchy and not the practice of Hindu faith,” Chidambaram said.In 2023, Udayanidhi sparked a nationwide political debate when he likened Sanatana to diseases such as malaria and dengue fever and said it should be “eradicated” rather than just opposed.He said, “Sanatana is like malaria and dengue fever, so it must be eradicated, not just opposed. I thank the organizers for naming this event ‘Abolish Sanatana Conference’ rather than ‘Anti-Sanatana Conference.'” Some things cannot simply be opposed; they must be abolished. We are not against dengue, mosquitoes, malaria or coronavirus – we want to eradicate them. Likewise, Sanatana should be eradicated rather than opposed.“Tamil Nadu is scheduled to hold assembly elections in April. Although the Congress party is an ally of the DMK, it is not part of the state government as per prevailing political conventions in the southern states.
