New Delhi: A group of 262 eminent citizens, including former bureaucrats, judges and army veterans Tuesday wrote to Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, urging him to take suo motu cognizance of the alleged “hate speech” by Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, saying it could incite “communal disharmony and sectarian violence”.
ThePrint has accessed the letter.
The state’s sports minister and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s son, Udhayanidhi Saturday called for the “eradication” of Sanatana Dharma (believed to be a set of duties incumbent upon all Hindus) and said that it was “against social justice and equality”.
“Few things cannot be opposed, they should be abolished. We can’t oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria, or corona, we have to eradicate them. In the same way, we have to eradicate the Sanatana (Sanatan Dharma), rather than opposing it,” Stalin said while speaking at a conference in Chennai.
His remarks have since sparked a controversy, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claiming that he had called for a “genocide” of those following the practice. Udhayanidhi, though, later clarified in a post on X that he did not call for any genocide and that his statement was meant to highlight the division caused in the society in the name of caste and religion.
In their letter, the 262 signatories drew Chandrachud’s attention to a Supreme Court judgment in which the latter had observed that “there cannot be fraternity unless different religious communities are amenable to live in harmony.”
The letter, signed by two coordinators — former Delhi High Court judge S.N. Dhingra and former Shipping Secretary Gopal Krishna — said, “The Supreme Court has expressed concern over the growing incidents of hate speeches in the country and has directed the governments and police authorities to take suo motu action in such cases without waiting for the lodging of formal complaints. Such action is needed in order to preserve the secular character of the country. Any delay on the part of the administration in taking action on ‘very serious issues’ will invite the court’s contempt.”
However, in this case, not only did Stalin make hate speech but also refused to apologise, stating “I will say this continuously”.
The writers of the letter observed that in this instance, the state government of Tamil Nadu has failed to take action against the minister and has thus acted in contempt of the court’s decision.
“Your lordship is aware of the importance of Sanatana Dharma and the same cannot be understated. It is a set of duties incumbent upon all Hindus and has often been defined as an ‘eternal’ that will always be relevant and gives the people of the Hindu faith, the freedom to choose mode of worship of the Almighty of their choice (sic),” the letter stated.
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