A delegation of Tamil Nadu BJP leaders met Governor RN Ravi on September 7 and submitted a memorandum demanding his intervention in the row over Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comments on Sanatana Dharma.  BJP state president K Annamalai, in a statement, said that, “We sought intervention of our honourable Governor in filing cases (in line with the Supreme Court’s guidelines) in Tamil Nadu against Udhayanidhi Stalin for his hate speech at the Santana Eradication conference.”

He further said that the state BJP had also demanded the dismissal of Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) minister Sekar Babu for participating in the conference.

On Sunday, September 3, Tamil Nadu Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin spoke at the Sanatana Eradication conference organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association. 

The minister's speech on the need to eradicate Sanatana Dharma—considered the bedrock for the Varna system—has stirred a national-level controversy, with many in the BJP dubbing it ‘hate’ speech. Udhayanidhi had compared the Sanatana doctrine to diseases such as dengue, malaria and COVID-19. BJP leaders including Union Home Minister Amit Shah are interpreting Udhayanidhi’s remarks as a call for the ‘genocide’ of Hindus.