After Udhayanidhi, Vijay's TVK MLA Triggers Controversy With Anti-Sanatan Dharma Comment

Days after Opposition Leader Udhayanidhi Stalin triggered a row over his comments on Sanathana Dharma, a legislator from ruling TVK has made a similar remarks, adding fuel to the ongoing controversy.

Speaking to reporters outside the Tamil Nadu Assembly, TVK MLA S. Mustafa invoked the legacies of social reformers Periyar and Ambedkar to justify the party's stance.

"We also have Periyar and Ambedkar. We have entered the field only to eradicate Sanatan Dharma," Mustafa reportedly stated.

The remarks have sparked immediate backlash online, with critics accusing the fledgling party of using religious targeting as a tool for political mobilisation. For Vijay's party, which is seeking to establish itself as a serious contender in the Dravidian political landscape, the alignment with "Sanatana Ozhippu" (eradication of Sanatana) marks a definitive ideological shift toward hardline Dravidianism.

Controversy doesn’t seem to slow down in #TamilNadu politics.

Now a TVK MLA, VMS Mustafa, sparks outrage with remarks against Sanatan Dharma,

claiming its eradication as an objective. pic.twitter.com/RSmweA78c5

— Rupsy Saini (@ZiviiBloom) May 14, 2026

Mustafa's comments follow a heated session in the Assembly where Udhayanidhi Stalin, the DMK MLA and Leader of the Opposition, reiterated his own controversial views. Udhayanidhi told the House that the opposition "will not permit" any attempts to sideline the Tamil Thai Vazhthu (the state's invocation song), linking the protection of Tamil identity to his opposition to Sanatan Dharma.

In 2021, Udhayanidhi Stalin, who was then the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, hit the national headlines after comparing Sanatan Dharma to diseases like dengue and malaria.

His comments were condemned by the Hindu groups and the BJP.

The controversy has also brought the judiciary's previous observations back into the spotlight. In January 2026, the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) quashed an FIR against BJP leader Amit Malviya, who had been accused of distorting Udhayanidhi's remarks.

In her judgement, Justice S. Srimathy noted that Udhayanidhi's speech amounted to "hate speech." She clarified the linguistic weight of the comments, pointing out that the Minister did not use the term Sanatana ethirppu (opposition), but specifically called for Sanatana ozhippu-the total eradication of the ideology.