Sanatana Dharma propounds “abominable, pernicious, illegal and evil practices” such as inequality on the basis of caste and gender, said senior Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and MP A Raja in a counter affidavit filed before Madras High Court.
“It is my constitutional duty to speak about equality and eradication of social evils,” Raja said.
The counter affidavit was filed before Justice Anita Sumanth, who was seized of a writ of quo warranto filed against Raja for insisting upon the annihilation of Sanatana Dharma, The Hindu reported.
Raja said: “Whatever I spoke about Sanatana Dharma were my views and opinions, which I am entitled to express as the Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience.”
In September this year, Raja had called for eradicating Sanatana Dharma and termed it a disease. Before Raja, Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin had made comments about Sanatana Dharma, calling it akin to dengue and malaria. Two first information reports filed in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh against him following a nationwide hate campaigns against the young DMK leader.
“My views are founded on Constituent Assembly debates and have been echoed by none other than the framers of the Constitution,” Raja said in the affidavit. “None of my utterances can even remotely be construed as opposed to the principles of equality and social justice enshrined in the Constitution…”
