Bengaluru: Karnataka Congress MLA Satish Jarkiholi said he stands by his statements about the origin of the word 'Hindu'. He added that if anyone proves him wrong, he will step down from his position. "Let everyone prove I am wrong. If I am wrong, I will resign as MLA, not just apologise for my statement."
In a video statement, he said there are hundreds of records about how this Persian word (Hindu) came. This has been mentioned in Swamy Dayanand Saraswati's book 'Satyarth Prakash', Dr GS Patil's book 'Basava Bharatha', and Bal Gangadhar Tilak's 'Kesari' newspaper as well. "These are just 3-4 examples, there are many such articles available on Wikipedia or any website, you should please read it," he added.
The working President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee spurred controversy when he said the word "Hindu" has a vulgar meaning and how people can accept it when it had no connection with India.
"The word Hindu, where did it originate from? Is it ours? It's Persian, from the region of Iran, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. What is the connection of the word Hindu with India? Then how can you accept it? This should be debated. You will be ashamed to know the meaning of Hindu," said Jarkiholi.
The Congress condemned the remarks "unequivocally". Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted: "Hinduism is a way of life and a civilisational reality. Congress built our Nation to respect every religion, belief, and faith. This is the essence of India. The statement attributed to Satish Jarkiholi is deeply unfortunate and deserves to be rejected."
Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar also said Jarkiholi's statement is not the party's opinion. "We will ask for his explanation."
BJP called it an attempt to appease minority communities for vote. Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai said the statement was made with half-knowledge. "This is anti-national and everyone should condemn it. Are Rahul Gandhi and Siddaramaiah's silence endorsing Satish Jarkiholi's statements?" Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa demanded that the Congress and Satish Jariholi apologise to the Hindu community.