'Will resign as MLA if proven wrong': Defiant Jarkiholi defends 'Hindu' remark even as Cong slams him

Bengaluru, Nov 08: A day after his remarks on the word 'Hindu' and its origin stirred a controversy, Congress working president Satish Jarkiholi defended his claim, maintaining that there was "nothing wrong" in what he said.

"There is nothing wrong in what I said. There are hundreds of records about how this Persian word (Hindu) came," Jarkiholi said in a video statement on Tuesday, NDTV reported.

"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.

"Let everyone prove I'm wrong. If I am wrong, I'll resign as MLA and not just apologise for my statement," said Jarkiholi.

Belagavi | "Let everyone prove I’m wrong. If I am wrong, I’ll resign as MLA and not just apologise for my statement," said Satish Jarkiholi, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president https://t.co/Cfq17AjP5Y pic.twitter.com/Jykp16gG7p

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2022

Congress has condemned Jarkiholi's remarks, saying Hinduism is a way of life and a civilisational reality.

"The statement attributed to Satish Jarkiholi is deeply unfortunate & deserves to be rejected. We condemn it unequivocally," Senior Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said in a tweet.

Hinduism is a way of life & a civilisational reality. Congress built our Nation to respect every religion, belief & faith. This is the essence of India.

The statement attributed to Satish Jarkiholi is deeply unfortunate & deserves to be rejected. We condemn it unequivocally.

— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) November 7, 2022

Courting controversy, Karnataka Congress leader Satish Jarakiholi has said that the word 'Hindu' actually comes from Persian language and that it has a 'horrible' meaning.

"Where has the 'Hindu' term come from? It comes 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," said the Congress leader.

"Hindu does not belong to India. It is being forcibly imposed on us. Why glorify it, when it is not even Indian?" he said while speaking in Hindi.

The video of Jarkiholi's controversial speech has evoked backlash from opposition parties.