‘Sanatan Dharma has ruined India', says NCP-SCP MLA Jitendra Awhad after Malegaon verdict
His comments came after all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts were acquitted by a special NIA court, reigniting the political debate over the term "saffron terror."
Addressing reporters, Mr. Awhad said, "Sanatan Dharma has ruined India. There was never any religion called Sanatan Dharma. We are followers of Hindu Dharma. It was this so-called Sanatan Dharma that denied our Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj his coronation. This Sanatan Dharma defamed our Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. The followers of this Sanatan Dharma tried to assassinate Jyotirao Phule."
He added, "They threw cow dung and filth at Savitribai Phule. This very Sanatan Dharma conspired to kill Shahu Maharaj. It did not even allow Dr B.R. Ambedkar to drink water or attend school. It was Babasaheb Ambedkar who finally rose against Sanatan Dharma, burned the Manusmriti, and rejected its oppressive traditions. The creator of Manusmriti himself emerged from this Sanatani tradition. One must not be afraid to say openly that Sanatan Dharma and its Sanatani ideology are perverted."
Meanwhile, BJP MP Sambit Patra, in a press conference on Friday (August 1, 2025), targeted the Congress over the use of terms like "saffron terror" and "Sanatan terrorist."
"Senior Congress leader Prithiviraj Chauhan has said two things — terrorism has no religion, which symbolises appeasement... In the same breath, he goes on to say the term Hindu terrorist or Sanatan terrorist... Sushil Kumar Shinde used the term 'saffron terror' in one of their conclave. A few years ago, when he was asked if he still felt it was right to use the word 'saffron terror', he smiled and said he was asked to use the term by the party leadership... We all know who he was talking about. He was pressurised by the Gandhi family into using the term 'saffron terror'," he said.
On Thursday (July 31), Mumbai's Special NIA Court acquitted all seven accused of being involved in the 2008 Malegaon blasts, with the court saying that the prosecution failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The NIA court has also ordered the Maharashtra government to award ₹2 lakh compensation to the families of the victims and ₹50,000 compensation to the injured.
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