Over 260 eminent citizens, including former judges, bureaucrats and retired Armed Forces personnel have written to Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud over DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's ‘Sanatan Dharma’ remark.

In the letter to CJI Chandrachud, the signatories urged him to take cognizance of the DMK leader’s remarks, reports said.

They have also appealed the CJI to take suo moto contempt proceedings against Tamil Nadu for failing to take action against the minister. The letter also stated that Stalin’s comments made a speech but he refused to apologize for his remarks.

The letter by the 262 people said that the undersigned are deeply concerned over the remarks made by Stalin and that these remarks undeniably amount to ‘hate speech’ against a large population of the country and strikes at the very core of the Constitution of India which envisages Bharat as a secular nation.

The letter read, “Not only did he make a hate speech but Udhayanidhi Stalin refused to apologise for his remarks. Rather he justified himself by stating, ‘l will say this continuously’ with reference to his remark that Sanatana Dharma should be eradicated. He reiterated that he stands by his remarks and offered ambiguities and nuances that did little to address the concerns raised by people.”

It may be mentioned that, addressing a press conference organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Artists Association in Chennai on Saturday, Udhayanidhi Stalin had said a few things could not be opposed but had to be eradicated. He equated Sanatan Dharma with ‘mosquitoes, Dengue, Malaria, fever and Corona’.