Hitting out at DMK leaders' remarks on Sanatana Dharma, senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on September 9 said that attacking the Sanatana Dharma has become a "fashion" for the "frustrated fraternity" but their "bankruptcy will backfire".
Participating in the BJP's nationwide 'Meri Maati, Mera Desh' campaign in Rampur, Mr. Naqvi said Sanatana Dharma is the soul of Bharat and those who are trying to attack that soul, will be destroyed.
"If someone attacks the Sanatana Dharma, the oldest faith on Earth, it reflects their mental illness," Mr. Naqvi was quoted as saying in a statement from his office.
Attacking the Sanatana Dharma has become a "fashion" for the "frustrated fraternity" but the "blasphemous bankruptcy" of the "Sanatan bashing brigade" will backfire, the former Union Minister said.
Mr. Naqvi said Bharat has witnessed hundreds of foreign invasions which not only looted resources but also attacked "Sanatana 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 Sanatana values of this great country, he said.
Mr. Naqvi said the ongoing "communal and criminal attack" on the Sanatana 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.
Mr. Naqvi also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks abroad, saying that while the entire world is lauding Bharat, the Congress and its former chief have become "merchants of misinformation" and "contractors of conspiracies" against the country on foreign soil.
Mr. Naqvi's remarks come amid a political row after DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin blamed Sanatana Dharmafor promoting division and discrimination among people and said it should be eradicated. Also, DMK leader A. Raja likened it to diseases like leprosy and HIV which had social stigma, prompting the BJP to accuse opposition leaders of suffering from "deep-rooted Hinduphobia".
