“Christian principles are essentially the same as DMK principles,” Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said, asserting that both Christianity and the Dravidian movement are rooted in love, compassion, equality and humanitarianism, and place human dignity at their core.
He made the remarks while speaking at a Christmas celebration in Madurai on December 19, 2025.
A day later, his father and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, speaking at a Manitha Neya Christmas event organised by the Christian Goodwill Movement at Palayamkottai in Tirunelveli, said the Dravidian Model government functioned as a testament to Jesus Christ’s idea of “everything for everyone, regardless of which religion one belongs to”. Referring to religious provocations, he cited a Biblical verse, saying, “Be wary, be careful, let no one deceive you.”
During the same address, the Chief Minister accused the BJP of attempting to disrupt peace in the State. He alleged that certain forces were dividing people living harmoniously and turning them into enemies. He claimed Tamil Nadu had realised that the path some organisations tried to lead society down in the name of spirituality was a path to violence. He further alleged that the Union government posed a threat to minorities and said the DMK had strongly opposed the CAA, NRC, SIR and similar measures.
“They want to destroy the country’s diversity and create an authoritarian future with one religion, one language, one culture, one election, one party and one leader. They are trying to implement their plan in Tamil Nadu too. Tamil Nadu and the DMK have the strength to oppose and thwart any destructive plans of the BJP,” he said.
BJP Tamil Nadu condemns DMK statements
Reacting sharply, the BJP Tamil Nadu slammed the DMK government for what it termed blatant minority appeasement. The party accused the ruling dispensation of opposing, despite court orders, the lighting of the lamp atop Thiruparankundram for the sake of a Muslim vote bank, while now delivering sermons at Christian events and lecturing the BJP and others. The BJP alleged that the DMK’s claims that its government was a testament to Jesus Christ were nothing but rank appeasement politics, driven by fear that actor-turned-politician Joseph Vijay could erode its Christian support base.
In a statement, Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson A. N. S. Prasad questioned, “How can the eternal, all-powerful Bhagwan Murugan, the supreme deity of Tamil dharma and vanquisher of demons, ever extend his divine hand to the faithless Chief Minister Stalin, who stands as an enemy of Sanatana Dharma? Udhayanidhi must fully confess his concealed religious identity and reveal the entire bitter truth before the wrath of the divine descends.”
He further said, “In this sacred Bharata Bhumi, particularly in the divine Tamil land where Bhagwan Murugan’s vel pierces the hearts of devotees and illuminates the six holy abodes, the treacherous hypocrisy of the DMK regime stands glaringly exposed — like the Asura forces that Murugan annihilated on the battlefield of righteousness.”
Prasad recalled that in 2022, at a Christmas celebration in Chennai, Udhayanidhi had proclaimed, “I myself am a Christian. I swell with pride in declaring myself a Christian. Even our Hindu Endowments Minister Sekar Babu chants ‘Alleluia’. Certain hearts will burn with rage hearing that Udhayanidhi is a Christian. The woman I loved and married belongs to the Christian faith.”
He said that having once merely claimed personal Christianity, Udhayanidhi had now “blasphemously elevated the entire DMK to the status of a Christian party, thereby stabbing at the very soul of Tamil Hindu spirituality.” Referring to the recent Madurai event, he quoted Udhayanidhi as saying, “There is no great difference between Christian principles and DMK principles. Both preach human compassion and equality. Jesus Christ demonstrated that even an ordinary man can become a leader of the people.”
Prasad said, “We have no quarrel with sincere praise of any faith’s virtues — the BJP eternally upholds sarva dharma samabhava, respecting all paths to the Divine while fiercely opposing forced conversions and jihadi terror that threaten our sacred civilisation. Yet Udhayanidhi’s calculated assertion that ‘Christian principles are essentially the same as DMK principles’ reeks of a sinister spiritual conspiracy aimed at eroding the foundations of Sanatana Dharma.”
Another BJP leader lashed out, stating that for generations the DMK had masqueraded as “secular” and “rationalist” while mocking Hindu gods, ridiculing temple rituals and branding devotees as superstitious. He questioned whether Stalin, Udhayanidhi and their family had abandoned their loud atheism and secretly embraced another faith, demanding a full public disclosure.
He further said that Udhayanidhi’s praise of Jesus Christ as proof that “any ordinary person can rise to leadership” stood as a self-indictment, given what he described as the DMK’s dynastic control, where leadership was restricted to the Karunanidhi–Stalin lineage. “This is not equality, it is hereditary monarchy masquerading as Dravidian justice,” he alleged.
Prasad also slammed HR & CE Minister P. K. Sekar Babu, accusing him of assaulting temples he was sworn to protect. He alleged defiance of the Madras High Court’s directions on lighting the lamp atop Thiruparankundram and accused the minister of diverting temple hundi funds to fight legal battles against temples themselves.
Calling claims that Bhagwan Murugan had “joined hands” with CM Stalin an act of sacrilege, Prasad said the deity could never ally with those hostile to Hindu traditions. He described the DMK leadership as modern-day Asuras and warned that every act undermining Sanatana Dharma was being watched.
Concluding his statement, Prasad said that empowered by Bhagwan Murugan’s vel and the collective tapas of devotees, the Hindu masses would deliver a decisive and dharmic defeat to what he termed an anti-Hindu regime. “May the triumphant cry ‘Vetri Vel! Veera Vel!’ echo across Tamil Nadu as truth and dharma prevail eternally,” he said.
