In 2023, Tiruchi City Police had registered an FIR against BJP leader Amit Malviya for “distorting the comments” of Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sanatana Dharma.
Addressing a press meet here on Thursday, Mr. Vanchinathan said the judge in her order had said Periyar, the Dravidar Kazhagam and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam were against Hinduism.
He asked who were the ones who had fought for the rights of the downtrodden, be it for reservation or temple entry. He further asked had any ‘sanatani’ ever fought for the upliftment of the downtrodden. Who was against Hindus, he asked, adding what was the link between the case and these observations.
Referring to the court order, he said the judge had observed “The entire case is on the word ‘ozhippu’, which is crucial. The word ‘abolish’ would indicate that some existing thing should not be there. If it is applied to the present case, if Sanatana Dharma should not be there, then the people following Sanatana Dharma should not be there. If a group of people following Sanatana Dharma should not be there, then the appropriate word is ‘genocide’”.
Mr. Vanchinathan questioned the interpretation. The BJP and the RSS had been calling for ‘Dravidam illa Tamil Nadu’ and had been saying ‘Dravidathai Ozhipom’. So could it also be interpreted that they said that they wanted to eliminate the Dravidian people, he asked.
It must be understood in what sense Mr. Udhayanidhi had made his speech. He had called for uprooting Sanatana Dharma which had been entrenched in the Varna system that stratified people and discriminated against certain sections. Mr. Udhayanidhi had called for upholding humanity and human equity, Mr. Vanchinathan added.
Published – January 22, 2026 11:40 pm IST
