Udhayanidhi Stalin, Priyank Kharge booked for 'hurting religious sentiments' in UP's Rampur

DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge have been booked under sections 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings) and 153 A (promoting enmity between different religious groups) in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur.

While the charge against Stalin comes after his remark on Sanatan Dharma, Kharge has been booked for backing his comment.

The FIR came at the complaint of lawyers Harsh Gupta and Ram Singh Lodhi who highlighted media reports on Stalin’s statement alleging that the politician’s comments had hurt their feelings.

Anil Rajbhar, UP Minister & BJP leader, said, “Our country and Modi Govt will not let anyone harm ‘Sanatana Dharma…Strict actions should be taken against him (Udayanidhi Stalin) and we welcome those who have registered an FIR against him.”

#WATCH | Lucknow, UP | On FIR registered against Tamil Nadu Minister Udayanidhi Stalin, UP Minister & BJP leader, Anil Rajbhar says “…Our country and Modi Govt will not let anyone harm ‘Sanatana Dharma…Strict actions should be taken against him (Udayanidhi Stalin) and we… pic.twitter.com/65Q04vrSud

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) September 6, 2023

Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comment has created a stir with Rights body Legal Rights Observatory (LRO) issuing a legal notice to the Police Commissioner of Greater Chennai for suo motu registering an FIR against him for delivering “hate speech” targeting the followers of Sanatan Dharma.

Stalin, who serves as a Tamil Nadu minister, on Saturday, made a controversial statement on ‘Sanatan Dharma’ saying that it is incompatible with the concept of social justice and should be “eliminated.”

He drew a parallel between Sanatan Dharma and vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria, which has led to strong criticism from BJP leaders.

He, however, later claimed that he had not called for violence against the followers of Sanatan Dharma.

With inputs from agencies