In a startling development, a day following his announcement of a Rs 10 crore reward for Tamil Nadu’s Sports Minister, Udhayanidhi Stalin, over his comments on Sanatana Dharma, Ayodhya’s seer, Mahanta Paramhans Das, has now declared his intention to personally behead Stalin.
In his recent statement on Tuesday, September 5th, Das stated, “If necessary, I will personally behead MK Stalin’s son, and I am ready to increase the Rs 10 crore bounty if that amount is insufficient for the task,” as reported by ANI.
Mahanta Paramhans Das, who serves as the head priest at Ayodhya’s Tapasvi Chhawni temple, had originally offered a cash reward for anyone who could “behead” Stalin due to his perceived ‘anti-Sanatana Dharma’ remarks, according to the Times of India (TOI). Responding to questions about how he would fund this substantial sum, Das was quoted as saying, “I possess assets worth Rs 500 crore, so disbursing Rs 10 crore is a trivial matter for me.”
He further added, “I would like to advise him to first study the history of Sanatana Dharma before making any comments against it. He should apologize for his statements against our Sanatana Dharma, and if he refuses to apologize, regardless of being a chief minister’s son, he will face consequences.”
Stalin had made these controversial remarks during an event titled ‘Sanatana Ozhippu Maanaadu’ (Sanatana Abolition Conclave), organized by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association to critically discuss the concept of Sanatana Dharma. He remarked, “I commend the organizers for referring to the conference as the ‘eradication of Sanatana Dharma’ rather than ‘opposing Sanatana Dharma’… There are certain things that we must eradicate, not merely oppose. Mosquitoes, dengue, corona, and malaria are things we cannot merely oppose; we must eradicate them. Sanatanam is also similar. Our foremost task should be its eradication, not opposition.”
These comments stirred controversy, with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell head, Amit Malviya, interpreting them as a “call for [the] genocide” of Sanatanis, whom he claimed constitute “80% of the population of Bharat.”