A televised political debate has triggered fresh discussion around the ideological positioning of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), after party spokesperson Saravanan described the party as the “only saviour of Hindus,” even as previous remarks by Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sanatana Dharma continue to be debated.
The exchange occurred during a live discussion where the anchor questioned Saravanan about actor-politician Vijay visiting religious places including dargahs, churches, and temples.
The anchor asked Saravanan, “You’re a rationalist party, right? Your chief minister says you don’t believe in God. What is this man (Vijay) doing going to Dargah, to church, to Tiruchendur? What is he doing?”
Responding, Saravanan said, “Yeah, I don’t know what is running in his mind. But that’s his personal choice.”
When further pressed on whether the visits were political, he replied, “I don’t know. Probably you should have invited some of the TVK’s spokespersons. I don’t know why you’re not.”
The anchor responded that TVK representatives had been invited but did not participate. Saravanan added, “Put it out there. So they’re hiding. They’re into hiding.”
When asked if their absence indicated electoral weakness, Saravanan stated, “Absolutely. Why else would they hide? All along they were there saying ‘we are going to win.’ Now they are nowhere to be seen.”
He then shifted to a broader argument on inclusivity, stating, “This is one aspect. The other aspect is when we speak of inclusivity. Inclusivity is not about going to temples. Inclusivity is about staying with them when the going gets tough. That is what we did. That is what our leader M. K. Stalin did, when churches were attacked on December 25th, it is our leader who condemned it. Nobody else did that from Tamil Nadu.”
He continued, “When mob lynching was taking place, it was our leader M.K. Stalin who condemned it. He went to the IUML conference and said Muslims are safe here in Tamil Nadu and we will always protect their interests.”
Saravanan then made a notable claim about the party’s position on Hindu interests, stating, “And when it comes to Hindus, DMK is the only saviour of Hindus – we are the ones who provided 69% reservation. Who is benefited by that? The Hindus from Tamil Nadu. That is called inclusivity.”
Tamil Nadu Polls | Vijay’s Spiritual Tour
DMK is the only saviour of the Hindus: @saravofcl
Highly educated Muslims come from Tamil Nadu, even more than Kerala: @_sabanaqvi tells @MadhavGK pic.twitter.com/ovuzkZPtwm
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) May 1, 2026
A party whose Deputy Chief Minister, son of a sitting chief minister went on record to say “Sanatana Dharma is like dengue, malaria and needs to be eradicated”, at an event that was titled ‘Eradicate Sanatana Dharma’ conference back in September 2023 – Saravanan who claims that DMK is the saviour of Hindus comes from the very same party.
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