Udhayanidhi tells AIADMK to clarify stand on Sanatan
Chennai (PTI): DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Saturday demanded to know the stand of principal opposition AIADMK on the Sanatan Dharma since former Chief Minister and Dravidian ideologue C N Annadurai had staunchly opposed it.
Udhayanidhi said he has not spoken on Sanatan what icons "Periyar E V Ramasamy, B R Ambedkar and Annadurai had not spoken," underscoring that his views only reflected the reformist, social justice ideology of such stalwarts.
Reiterating his allegation that the BJP is only involved in "spreading fake news," the minister demanded to know the stand of the main opposition AIADMK, an ally of the BJP, on the issue.
"Their party's name has Anna's name and no one spoke more against Sanatan than Anna and I would like to know their (AIADMK) opinion; if you meet AIADMK leaders please ask their view," he told reporters here.
AIADMK chief and former Chief Minister Edppadi K Palaniswami had said days ago that Udhayanidhi's Sanatan remark was just a drama and tactic to divert attention from a host of real issues faced by the people.
Senior AIADMK leader D Jayakumar had said that all religions must be respected and denigrating a religion is wrong.
Jayakumar pointed out that Dravidar Kazhagam leader K Veeramani had said that Sanatan Dharma and Hindu religion are one and the same.
Founder of the DMK, Annadurai is popularly known as Anna (elder brother) and he was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu during 1967-69.
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Will uplift poor Muslims financially, protect Wakf Board properties: Chandrababu Naidu
Vijayawada, March 27 (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday called Ramadan a month of discipline, charity and reflection at an Iftar party hosted by the state government in Vijayawada.
The chief minister joined Muslims in their prayers and reaffirmed his commitment to uplifting poor Muslims and protecting Wakf Board properties in the state.
"We established Urdu universities in Hyderabad and Kurnool, and a Haj House in Kadapa. Between 2014 and 2019, we provided ‘Dulhan’ assistance to 32,722 minority brides at Rs 163 crore," said the chief minister at the Iftar party.
The NDA coalition government is working to uplift poor Muslim families while ensuring the protection of Wakf Board properties as TDP has always supported the Muslim community, said Naidu.
The TDP supremo said that the party shares a strong bond with Muslims as it extended several benefits in united Andhra Pradesh while NTR (NT Rama Rao) established a finance corporation and made Urdu the second official language, including building Haj House and protecting Wakf properties.
Naidu said that the state government has increased honoraria for Imams to Rs 10,000 and for Mouzans to Rs 5,000 while allocating Rs 5,434 crore for Muslim minorities with an increase of Rs 1,300 crore from the previous year.
