Slamming DMK leaders’ remarks on Sanatan Dharma, former Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said that attacking the 'Sanatan Dharma' has become a "fashion" for the "frustrated fraternity".
Participating in the BJP's nationwide 'Meri Maati, Mera Desh' campaign in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur, Naqvi said 'Sanatan Dharma' is the soul of Bharat and those who are attempting to attack it, will be destroyed.
"If someone attacks the Sanatan Dharma, the oldest faith on Earth, it reflects their mental illness," Naqvi said, as stated in a statement from his office.
“Attacking the 'Sanatan Dharma' has become a fashion for the frustrated fraternity but the blasphemous bankruptcy of the Sanatan bashing brigade will backfire,” he added.
Naqvi cited foreign invasions in the past and said that it not only looted resources but also attacked "Sanatan values and Bharatiya culture" and identity.
“The foreign invaders succeeded in looting the immense resources of Bharat but could not succeed in their nefarious designs to destroy the culture and Sanatan values of this great country,” he said.
Naqvi said the ongoing "communal and criminal attack" on the Sanatan culture is "not by chance, but by choice".
"It's our national duty to work together to defeat any such intentional and deliberate designs against Bharatiya culture and values," he added.
Naqvi's remarks come amid a political row after DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin accused Sanatan Dharma of promoting division and discrimination among people and said it should be eradicated.
DMK leader A Raja compared it to HIV which had social stigma, triggering the BJP to accuse opposition leaders of suffering from "deep-rooted Hinduphobia".
(With PTI inputs)
