New Delhi [India], August 4 : Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad has drawn strong criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other leaders after his statement saying that Sanatan Dharma has "ruined India" and later calling it a "perverted" ideology.
Reacting sharply to his remarks, BJP MP Arun Govil said, "Sanatan is the biggest 'darshan' of Indian culture. India has been formed out of it. India runs with it, and it will continue with it...This is a reflection of his narrow mindset..."
BJP MP Brij Lal also attacked the NCP-SCP leader, stating, "Sanatan Dharma exists and he too is a Sanatani... They are doing this only for vote bank politics and to please a particular section..."
Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske accused Awhad of making a controversial statement with the intention of staying in headlines.
"Jitendra Ahwad makes such statements to stay in the headlines. The area he gets elected from is a minority-dominated area, and to please them, he makes such statements...", he said.
Yog guru Baba Ramdev also criticised Awhad and said, "Some people who are born in the Hindu religion are working to cast a blot on the religion..."
The backlash followed a statement Ahwad made following the acquittal of all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case by a special NIA court, where he said that Sanatan Dharma has "ruined India" and called the ideology "perverted", launching a scathing attack on the ideology of Sanatan Dharma.
Addressing reporters, Awhad said, "Sanatan Dharma has ruined India. There was never any religion called Sanatan Dharma. We are followers of Hindu Dharma. It was this so-called Sanatan Dharma that denied our Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj his coronation. This Sanatan Dharma defamed our Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. The followers of this Sanatan Dharma tried to assassinate Jyotirao Phule."
He added, "They threw cow dung and filth at Savitribai Phule. This very Sanatan Dharma conspired to kill Shahu Maharaj. It did not even allow Dr BR Ambedkar to drink water or attend school. It was Babasaheb Ambedkar who finally rose against Sanatan Dharma, burned the Manusmriti, and rejected its oppressive traditions. The creator of Manusmriti himself emerged from this Sanatani tradition. One must not be afraid to say openly that Sanatan Dharma and its Sanatani ideology are perverted."
The comments have sparked renewed political friction, especially in the backdrop of the Malegaon verdict, which has reignited debate around the term "saffron terror."