'Even as we launch Chandrayaan to Moon...': MK Stalin defends son on 'Sanatana Dharma' remark

In a lengthy statement, released in both Tamil and English, the Chief Minister said that his son had only spoken about "inhuman principles preached by Sanatan... that discriminate against Scheduled Castes, tribes and women" and "had no intention to offend any religion or religious beliefs".

The Chief Minister then ripped into "some people (who) propagate caste-based discrimination (and) still denigrate women on spiritual platforms" and accused "pro-BJP forces unable to tolerate his stance against oppressive principles" of spreading misinformation about his minister's speech.

"Even as we launch Chandrayaan to the Moon, some people continue to propagate caste discrimination... emphasising social stratification based on Varnashrama principles and citing sastras and other ancients texts to support sectarian claims... some individuals still denigrate women on spiritual platforms, arguing women should not work, widowed women should not remarry..."

"They use the term 'Sanatan' to perpetuate oppression of women, who make up more than half of humankind. Udhayanidhi only spoke against such oppressive ideologies and called (for the) eradication of practices based on those ideologies," Chief Minister Stalin wrote.

Accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's "troll army" of spreading lies, the Chief Minister also criticised union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh for spreading the "lie" that Udhayanidhi Stalin - who is also his son - had "called for the genocide of people with Sanatan thoughts".

The controversy erupted after Udhayanidhi Stalin said that "Sanatana Dharma is like malaria and dengue and so it must be eradicated and not opposed".

Senior BJP leaders have dismissed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's son as "Udhayanidhi Hitler" and slammed the opposition INDIA alliance as "anti-Hindu".