Gajendra Shekhawat said that many invaders tried to weaken Indian culture for 2,000 years. (File)
Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has said anyone who speaks against the Sanatan Dharma would have his tongue pulled out and his eyes gouged out.
A video of Mr Shekhawat making the purported remarks went viral on social media. He was speaking at a public rally in Barmer district of poll-bound Rajasthan last week during BJP's Parivartan Yatra.
Reacting to the recent comments made by Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin against the Sanatan Dharma, Shekhawat said, “We have to stand up to the challenge. We will pull out the tongue of anyone who speaks against Sanatan. We will also gouge out those eyes raised against Sanatan.”
“We challenge that no person who speaks against Sanatan will be able to maintain political position and power in this country. They try to attack our culture and history,” he said.
On September 2, Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, had alleged that the Sanatan Dharma is against equality and social justice, and that it should be eradicated. He also likened Sanatan Dharma to coronavirus, malaria, and dengue fever.
In the rally, Mr Shekhawat also said the opposition INDIA alliance is a grouping of those who have been involved in various scams like fodder scam and others. He said opposition parties' objective is to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“(Congress president) Mallikarjun Kharge says that if Modi wins, Sanatan will become powerful, hence there is a need to defeat him. Two days ago, the DMK Chief Minister's son made remarks against Sanatan. He (Udhayanidhi Stalin), while comparing it to coronavirus, says that Sanatan culture should be eliminated from the country,” the Jodhpur MP said.
Mr Shekhawat said that many invaders tried to weaken Indian culture for 2,000 years.
“Rulers like Alauddin Khilji and Aurangzeb tried but ancestors of yours and mine were capable and protect the culture. We swear by all those ancestors, whether it is Maharaja Surajmal, Veer Durgadas or Maharana Pratap, that we will not tolerate those who attack Sanatan. We will throw them away,” the Union Jal Shakti Minister said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)