A social media post, accompanying a purported News18 clip, is currently circulating widely. This clip allegedly features Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s response to Tamil Nadu Minister Udayanidhi Stalin’s remarks on Sanatana Dharma. According to the news clip, Rajnath Singh has advocated for the silence of Dravidians and Shudras, drawing a parallel to the way Kshatriyas have historically adhered to it.
Claim: Dravidians and Shudras should remain silent like how Kshatriyas have historically adhered to it- Rajnath Singh
Fact: News18 did not publish any report that credited these statements to Rajnath Singh. Likewise, no other news agency linked these remarks to the Minister. Nevertheless, Rajnath Singh did respond to Stalin’s comments by asserting that Sanatan Dharma is eternal and that no power in the world can destroy it. He also questioned the silence of the INDIA bloc regarding Stalin’s statements. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
While Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed Tamil Nadu Minister Udayanidhi Stalin’s remarks concerning Sanatana Dharma, it is important to clarify that he did not make the reported statements. Furthermore, it should be noted that News18 did not publish the said news clip.
A Google search using appropriate keywords yielded numerous news articles that covered Rajnath Singh’s reaction to Stalin’s remarks. According to these reports, Singh responded by questioning the silence of the INDIA coalition over the remarks and demanding apologies from both the Congress and INDIA coalition.
Subsequently, on a separate occasion, Rajnath Singh asserted that Sanatan Dharma is eternal and that no power in the world can destroy it. Various news agencies have covered Rajnath’s statements, and News18 also reported on his remarks (here, here & here). However, we couldn’t find any News18 report that mentioned Rajnath Singh calling for the silence of Dravidians and Shudras.
In this regard, we could not find any reports from any news agency associating the alleged comments with Rajnath Singh. If the minister had indeed made such statements, it is highly likely that the media would have covered it. This strongly indicates that the viral news clip is a digitally created imitation designed to resemble the News18 format.
To sum it up, Rajnath Singh did not make these statements in response to Udayanidhi Stalin’s remarks on Sanatana Dharma.
