‘Sanatan should be wiped out!’ Udayanidhi Stalin’s bad words in Assembly, did CM Vijay also support him?

Chennai: The controversy over ‘Sanatan Dharma’ has once again heated up in Tamil Nadu politics. DMK leader and Leader of Opposition in the House Udhayanidhi Stalin has given a very controversial statement inside the Assembly. Udhayanidhi said that “Sanatan, who divides people, should be eliminated.” After his statement, not only was there an uproar inside the House, people were also angry on social media.

BJP has called it a direct attack on the religious sentiments of crores of people. Meanwhile, a video of the assembly proceedings is also spreading like wildfire on the internet, in which serious claims are being made referring to Chief Minister Vijay. The matter has escalated so much that the old comment of the Madras High Court has again come into discussion, in which Udhayanidhi’s statement was categorized as ‘hate speech’.

After all, what did Udhayanidhi say in the assembly?

Udhayanidhi Stalin used very strong words while speaking during the Tamil Nadu Assembly session. He said that “Sanatanam divides people into different parts and it should be completely abolished.” The controversy centers around his use of the Tamil word “Ozhippu”, which means “to root out” or “eradicate”.

Political experts and opponents say that this is not just an ideological opposition, but an appeal to eradicate a religion. Let us tell you that this is not the first time that Udhayanidhi has said this; Even before this, his similar statements had created an uproar across the country and FIRs were even registered against him in many states.

Viral video and questions raised on CM Vijay

A video clip is going viral on the social media platform ‘X’ (Twitter), due to which users are also targeting Chief Minister Joseph Vijay. A viral post has claimed that when Udhayanidhi was talking about abolishing Sanatan, Chief Minister Vijay was greeting him with folded hands.

People are raising questions whether this behavior of the CM was an endorsement of Udhayanidhi’s words? Users are writing on social media that “If a Hindu leader had said the same thing about other religions, what would have happened by now?” People are also questioning the silence of CM Vijay as to why he did not object to such remarks in the House.

BJP’s strong counterattack

BJP has called this statement of Udhayanidhi as bad politics that divides the society. Party spokesperson CR Kesavan said that Udhayanidhi deliberately makes such statements repeatedly to hurt the faith of the people. At the same time, many senior BJP leaders including Amit Malviya, while targeting the opposition alliance, have also asked Rahul Gandhi questions whether he agrees with such rhetoric?

High Court’s comment which is increasing Udhayanidhi’s problems

Amidst this controversy, an old ruling given by the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court in January 2026 is again in the news. Justice S Srimathi, while hearing Udhayanidhi’s old statement, had clearly said that his words fall under the ambit of “hate speech”. The court, while interpreting the Tamil words, had explained that “Ethirappu” means opposition, but “Ozhippu” means to eliminate completely, which is objectionable.

New political equations and increasing tension

All this controversy is happening at a time when the politics of Tamil Nadu has completely changed. Actor Vijay’s party TVK (Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam) has got a big victory in the recent elections and new political equations are being formed in the state. TVK MLA JCD Prabhakar has been elected unopposed as speaker in the assembly. In such an environment, this issue of ‘Sanatan’ can take the form of an even bigger debate in the coming days between the ruling party and the opposition.