New Delhi [India], August 3 (ANI): BJP MP Sambit Patra on Sunday slammed NCP-SCP leader Jitendra Awhad for his 'Sanatan has destroyed India' remarks and stated that he would not have received a peaceful reply if he had said so about Islam.

MP Sambit Patra stated they are lodging a protest through a press conference.

'We are tolerant, and that is why we are lodging our protest through a press conference. Had this statement been made about Islam and Muslims, you wouldn't have received an answer in a press conference,' Sambit Patra said.

Patra further launched an attack against NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar and MP Supriya Sule, and asked if Awhad's statement reflected their party's stand on the issue.

He said, 'He spoke against the very essence of India. I would like to ask Sharad Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule, who is also an MP, whether this is a statement of the party or his personal statement?'

'Nowhere else in the world does it happen that accusations are being made against the majority population and then calling them intolerant,' the BJP MP added.

Earlier, Jitendra Awhad sparked a fresh row by saying that Sanatan Dharma has 'ruined India' and calling its ideology 'perverted.' 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, 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. They threw cow dung and filth at Savitribai Phule.'

He added that BR Ambedkar rose against 'Sanatan Dharma' and rejected its oppressive traditions.

'This very Sanatan Dharma conspired to kill Shahu Maharaj. It did not even allow Dr BR 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,' the NCP-SCP leader said. (ANI)