Opposition to be blamed if next Lok Sabha polls turn into ‘Sanatan Dharma-I.N.D.I.A bloc’ contest, says VHP

The opposition alliance will be responsible if next year’s Lok Sabha elections turn into a 'Sanatan Dharma versus I.N.D.I.A bloc' contest, said Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) working president Alok Kumar on Sunday. Recently, DMK leaders Udhayanidhi Stalin and A Raja triggered a controversy after they claimed that Sanatan Dharma had sown divisions in society and must be eradicated on the lines of diseases like dengue, malaria and coronavirus.

DMK is a part of the opposition grouping of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) that has been formed to take on the ruling BJP in the 2024 general elections.

“If this happens, the responsibility for this will be on the INDIA bloc,” Kumar told PTI on Sunday in reply to a question about the possibility that next year’s Lok Sabha elections will be contested on the issue of “Sanatan Dharma versus INDIA bloc”.

The VHP leader said that if religion and Hindutva are made an issue in the elections, then the responsibility will be on those who are giving statements against “Lord Ram and Ramcharit Manas”.

“These people will also have to suffer the consequences,” he said. Kumar claimed that when Udhayanidhi was making objectionable statements about Sanatan Dharma, his mother was worshipping in a temple.

“Sanatan Dharma has deep roots. Anyone who challenges this religion will end up in the dustbin of history,” he said.

Kumar was in Indore of BJP-governed Madhya Pradesh to participate in a VHP event, “Shaurya Jagran Yatra”. Assembly elections in MP are due in a few months.

In his address before this march, the VHP leader challenged the INDIA bloc and Stalin, saying his organisation was ready for a “democratic war” for Sanatan Dharma.

“Sanatan Dharma endured the atrocities of the Mughals for 800 years and the conspiracies of the vicious British for 200 years. The rule of the Mughals and the British ended long ago, but Sanatan Dharma is alive,” he said.

Kumar also claimed that Lord Ram’s temple will be inaugurated in Ayodhya during the third week of January next year.

“Last time Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. This time, he will return to Ayodhya after 500 years. The Hindu community across the world will celebrate the inauguration of the temple,” he said.