On Thursday, December 23, Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister of MK Stalin and recently appointed state Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Development, stoked controversy after saying that he and his wife are Christians, and Sanghis will be burning after this.
Speaking at a Christmas celebration event in Chennai’s Harbour constituency, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader said that he is proud to call himself a Christian and that after knowing this, the Sanghis will be burning.
“I am proud to call myself a Christian, all the Sanghis today will be burning. Because Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Minister Sekarbabu is saying ‘Hallelujah’, Udayanidhi is saying ‘I’m a Christian’. Yes, I will say that I am a Muslim too,” Udhayanidhi said.
“I went to the Don Bosco school in Egmore. I received my degree from Loyola College. I fell in love with and married a Christian woman (Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi). On that note, I’m delighted to be a part of this Christmas event,” Udhayanidhi went on to say.
“Everyone is asking what this ‘Dravida Model regime, Dravidian Model regime’ is,” Udhayanidhi Stalin continued. Our chief repeatedly refers to the ‘Dravida Model regime’. What exactly is the ‘Dravidian Model regime’? I’m telling you now. ‘Hallelujah,’ says an HR&CE Minister. This is known as the Dravida Model regime. He had planned an even bigger celebration for Ramzan. Outside, he could be roaming around with a Mala. However, this is the social justice regime. This is something that Periyar, Anna, Kalaignar, and Anbazhagan have taught us. That is the ‘Dravida Model regime’ that our chief is implementing.”
Wow that’s news to me…. pic.twitter.com/H0gUOzzMWw
— Vishwatma 🇮🇳 (@HLKodo) December 22, 2022
Notably, Udhayanidhi Stalin had earlier claimed that he and his wife are atheists when a controversy erupted after he shared a picture of his daughter holding a Vinayagar (Lord Ganesha) idol on social media in 2020.
Udhayanidhi had back then clarified in a statement that he took the picture of his daughter with the idol on her wish and that he and his wife do not believe in any god.
சர்ச்சையும் அதன் உள்நோக்கமும் புரிகிறது. என் அம்மா வைத்து வழிபட்டது. கரையும்முன் மகள் விருப்பத்தின்பேரில் அவர் கைகளில் புகைப்படமானது, அவ்வளவே. pic.twitter.com/4s0csUBP43
— Udhay (@Udhaystalin) August 24, 2020
It is pertinent to mention that this is not the first time that a DMK leader has retorted to the appeasement of Christians.
On July 28, Tamil Nadu assembly speaker M Appavu said that the DMK’s government is formed in Tamil Nadu only because of Christians. He said that the DMK government is for the Christians and by the Christians.
The speaker had back then thanked Christian Catholic missionaries for ‘fasting’ and praying for the DMK to come into power.
Dravida model is nothing but promoting Catholic Culture. Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M. Appavu openly proclaims that DMK Govt is created by Christians, for the welfare of Christians. Wake-up & know the facts. pic.twitter.com/3IHGMRiTDa
— Prasad VSN Koppisetti 🇮🇳 (@PrasadKVSN) July 25, 2022
Speaker Appavu had sparked outrage after he said that had there been no reverand Christian priests, Tamil Nadu would’ve remained like Bihar.
Last year Tamil Nadu CM Stalin himself heaped praises on Christian missionaries and called the Church of South India a boon to the state.
Congratulating the church for ‘creating’ a caste-less society, Stalin said that the “DMK government is there only because of you.”
