After Karnataka Congress leader Satish Jarkiholi said that the word "Hindu" is a Persian word and did not originate in India, Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in-charge Arun Singh on Tuesday hit back at the Congress saying that the latter has defamed country's ancient culture.
Launching into Congress over Jarkiholi's statement, Singh said, "Congress always speaks badly of our ancient culture. Satish Jarkiholi defamed our ancient culture. It's highly condemnable. People will give a befitting reply."
Congress leader Satish Jarkiholi on Monday said that the word "Hindu" is a Persian word that means "horrible" and asked why people place it on a high pedestal.
"Where has the word 'Hindu' come from? It has come from Persia...So, what is its relation with India? How's 'Hindu' yours? Check on WhatsApp, and Wikipedia, the term isn't yours. Why do you want to put it on a pedestal?... Its meaning is horrible," the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President said at an event in Belagavi district.
Meanwhile, Arun Singh also appealed to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to take action on his statement. "If Congress does not agree with his statement, they should immediately oust him."
The Congress maintained a distance from Jarkiholi's remark. Congress leader Randeep Surjewala on Monday said that Jarkiholi's statement is "unfortunate" and Congress "unequivocally condemns it".
Notably, a video of the event where Satish Jarkiholi was speaking has gone viral on social media and BJP has slammed it for insulting and provoking Hindus.
"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," he added.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Monday took to Twitter to slam Jarkiholi for his remark and said that the remark insulted and provoked Hindus.
"This is not a Sanyog but a Votebank ka Udyog, from Hindu terror to opposing Ram Mandir to linking Gita with Jihad," Poonwalla tweeted.
Talking about the next Karnataka Assembly Election, Arun Singh showed his confidence in winning more than 150 seats.
"Our party and its workers are doing splendidly well on the ground level, Yatras and meetings are going on. Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, all kinds of work have been done for minorities and the poor. We will achieve our target of 150 seats in the state assembly election," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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