PATNA: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president of Bihar, Jagdanand Singh on Wednesday said that Sanatana Dharma advocates discrimination on the basis of caste. The RJD leader added that as a result, a section of the people were subjugated while the country was enslaved by those who roamed about sporting 'tika and chandan' on their foreheads.
If the BJP leaders are willing to make Sanatana Dharma a subject of debate they will stand exposed and eventually, they would be forced to backtrack, Singh affirmed.
The subject has also to do with the necessity of reservations, he said.
When media persons questioned him again on Thursday about his statement, Singh said he stands by his remarks.
"We also believe in Sanatana Dharma. We also know a lot of things. But the BJP leaders are trying to mislead the people of the country and it is not appropriate," he said.
In retaliation, former union minister and BJP national spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told newspersons that his party would not tolerate insult to “Hindu faith and philosophy.'
Prasad wondered whether a conspiracy was hatched during the meeting of the INDIA bloc in Mumbai recently to insult the Hindu faith. This is being done for the sake of vote bank politics, he claimed.
He demanded a reply from Congress senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over this issue.
A controversy broke out over the issue after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son and minister Udhayanidhi Stalin recently said that Sanatana Dharma is against equality and social justice. He compared Sanatana Dharma to COVID-19 and malaria and called for its eradication. On the other hand, JD(U), which is an ally of the opposition grand alliance, tried to play down the controversy by saying that one should respect all religions.