DMK spokesperson Constantine Ravindran has sparked controversy by what can be construed as a racist statement, asserting that people of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar lack common sense and intelligence because of the domination of Santana Dharma.
This statement from a DMK’s official spokesperson comes even as the dust is yet to settle on Udhayanidhi Stalin likening Sanatana Dharma to Dengue, Malaria, and Corona and calling for its eradication.
Udhayanidhi Stalin made these comments during the Eradicate Sanatanam Conclave” organized by Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association at Chennai, akin to the anti-Hindu Dismantling Global Hindutva conference that was held in 2021.
Following his comments, politicians including the alliance partners of DMK such as Congress and Shiva Sena, and some political commentators have condemned Udhayanidhi Stalin’s speech.
In this situation, as the pressure on DMK was mounting nationwide for the hate speech of Udhayanidhi Stalin. Former judges, government officials, and war veterans have collectively written a letter to the Chief Justice of India, urging him to initiate suo motu proceedings in response to the hate speech delivered by DMK Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin.
And now to make things worse, DMK spokesperson Constantine Ravindran made a racist statement claiming that the people of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are uneducated, and lack common sense and intelligence because of prevalence of Sanatana Dharma.
While responding to a question on whether Udhayanidhi’s remarks on the eradication of Sanatana Dharma will affect the votes of I.N.D.I alliance, Constantine Ravindran said, “Certainly the statement of Udhayanidhi will have no negative impact. Did anyone from Kerala, Karnataka, or Andhra make any statements against Udhayanidhi? Nothing. Even in North India, did everyone accept Sanatana Dharma in places like West Bengal? West Bengal was ruled by Communists. Did Communists accept Sanatana Dharma?”
He added, “Only in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, do people follow Sanatanam. No one is educated there because Sanatanam flourished in those states. They do not have intelligence. They do not have rationality in their life. In these two states, there may be a small impact. But those two states will not affect us.”
DMK's Constantine Ravindran says that the people of UP and Bihar are uneducated and lack intelligence and commonsense… pic.twitter.com/MzWPa4tRQc
— Vishwatma 🇮🇳 (@HLKodo) September 5, 2023
It is worth noting that the state of Bihar is ruled by Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal (United) and Tejasvi Yadav of Rashtriya Janata Dal who are part of I.N.D.I Alliance in which DMK is also a member. The DMK spokesperson’s racially insensitive remark targeting the people of Bihar is bound to further anger coalition partners, JDU and RJD. This internal discord is giving rise to significant skepticism among political analysts regarding the alliance’s viability leading up to the upcoming parliamentary elections next year.
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