Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader A. Raja has courted controversy after his remarks on Hindu religion drew flak from the BJP and other right wing groups. The saffron party accused him of spewing hatred against a particular community to appease others.
Addressing a meeting of Dravidar Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu's Namakkal, Raja said Shudras were insulted in Manusmrithi and denied equality, education, employment and entry into temples.
"You are a Shudra as long as you are a Hindu. You are the son of a prostitute till you remain as Shudra. You are a Panchaman (Dalit) till you remain a Hindu. You are an untouchable till you remain a Hindu," the Nilgiris MP said. A video of his speech has since then gone viral on social platforms.
"How many of you wish to stay as children of prostitutes? How many of you wish to remain untouchables? Only if we are vocal about these questions, it will become elemental in breaking Sanathana (dharma),” Raja further said.
He pointed out the argument of the Lingayat community in Karnataka, who had filed a petition in the Supreme Court demanding that they be declared a separate religion since their way of worship and religious practices are different.
“But what is the Supreme Court saying? The Supreme Court is saying that if you are not a Christian, Muslim, or Persian, you have to be a Hindu. Is there any other country having such cruelty?,” Raja asked.
Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai accused the DMK MP of appeasement politics and targeting a particular community. "@arivalayam MP has yet again spewed hatred against one community with the sole aim of appeasing others. Very, very unfortunate mindset of these political leaders who think they own Tamil Nadu," he tweeted.
BJP Mahila Morcha national president Vanathi Srinivasan said Raja has insulted the women and Hindus on numerous occasions. This time too, he has spewed venom stating that all Shudras are children of prostitutes and they will remain so until they remain in Hinduism, she said.
