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The plea claimed that Stalin ought not to have called for the annihilation of the dharma and that he, being elected legislator, could not act against Sanatan Dharma
The Madras High Court on Wednesday refused to issue a writ of quo warranto against Tamil Nadu Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin, HRCE Minister PK Sekarbabu, and Member of Parliament A Raja amid the Sanatan Dharma row.
The bench Justice Anita Sumanth however criticised the remarks made by the legislators. It condemned the unverified claims made against Sanatan Dharma and held them as misinformation.
Court emphasized that individuals in constitutional positions should refrain from making divisive remarks. However, it expressed its inability to issue a writ of quo warranto against Stalin due to the absence of any action under law against him leading to his disqualification.
The order was passed in a quo warranto petition filed by T Manohar, an office-bearer of Hindu Munnani, and two others against the Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin, HRCE Minister PK Sekarbabu, and Member of Parliament A Raja questioning their continuation in public offices after calling for annihilation of Sanatana Dharma in a public meeting.
While speaking at an event called 'Sanatana Abolition Conference', Udhayanidhi on September 2, 2023 said, “I congratulate the organisers for calling the conference as eradication of Santana Dharma instead of 'opposing Sanatana Dharma'."
"There are some things that we have to eradicate and we can’t merely oppose. Mosquitoes, dengue, corona, and malaria are things which we cannot oppose, we have to eradicate them. Sanatanam is also like this. Eradication and not opposing Sanatanam has to be our first task," the Minister had said.
Thereafter, Raja, a Rajya Sabha MP and former Cabinet Minister on September 07, 2023 allegedly supplemented the derogatory remarks made against Sanatan Dharma.
Raja reportedly said, "Sanatana and Vishwakarma Yojana are not different, they are the same. Udhayanidhi Stalin was soft in comparing and claiming that it should be eradicated like malaria and dengue."But these diseases don't have a social stigma. To be honest, leprosy was seen as disgusting and so was HIV. So, we need to see this as a disease-ridden with social plights like HIV and leprosy", he had said.
Stalin defended his remarks contending that they were not intended to oppose Hinduism, instead, he was simply urging to bring an end to caste-based discriminatory practices.
Case Title: T. Manohar v. Udhayanidhi Stalin and Another and Connected Matters
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