On ‘Hindu’ word row, Anurag Thakur’s dig at Congress, AAP

Karnataka Congress working president Satish Jarkiholi stoked a controversy on Monday by claiming the word Hindu is Persian and has "a horrible and shameful meaning". Condemning Jarkiholi's remarks, Thakur said it has become a habit for the Congress and AAP to demean Hindus and insult Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

Union minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday hit out at Karnataka Congress working president Satish Jarkiholi for his remark on the word ‘Hindu’. Jarkiholi stoked a controversy on Monday by claiming the word Hindu is Persian and has "a horrible and shameful meaning".

Condemning Jarkiholi's remarks, Union minister Anurag Thakur took a dig at the Congress as well as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). (PTI file photo)

"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," Jarkiholi said at an event in Karnataka's Belagavi district, news agency ANI reported.

Condemning Jarkiholi's remarks, Thakur said it has become a habit for the Congress and AAP to demean Hindus and insult Hindu Gods and Goddesses. “Only during elections do they remember Gods and Goddesses. The rest of the time, they (Congress and AAP) keep abusing them,” Thakur was quoted as saying by ANI.

The Union minister took the swipe at the AAP days after its national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to the Centre to incorporate images of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha on currency notes.

Apart from Thakur, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai condemned Jarkiholi's statement and demanded an apology from the Congress.

At Udupi, Bommai said Jarkiholi's remarks were not incidental and it was made with the purpose to lure the votes of minority communities, news agency PTI reported.

While the Congress has condemned Jarkiholi's remark, the Karnataka Congress working president said there was nothing wrong with what he said before.

"Let everyone prove I am wrong. If I am wrong, I will resign as MLA and not just apologise for my statement," Jarkiholi said on Tuesday.

(With ANI, PTI inputs)