‘Sanatana like HIV, leprosy’: Says DMK MP Raja; triggers fresh row

Chennai: Amid the ongoing political slugfest over Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks over 'Sanatana Dharma', his party DMK's MP Andimuthu Raja further kicked up the row by comparing it to social stigma and diseases like HIV and leprosy.

While protesting against the Central government’s Vishwakarma Yojana in Chennai, Raja said that Udhayanidhi’s perspective on 'Sanatana Dharma' was relatively mild. "Sanatana and Vishwakarma schemes are not different. Udhayanidhi gently said that Santana Dharma should be eliminated like malaria and dengue," he siad.

"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 diseases ridden with social plights like HIV and leprosy," the DMK MP further said.