NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday distanced itself from the controversial remarks made by senior party leader and former Union minister Shivraj Patil that Lord Krishna gave lessons on jihad to Arjuna during the Mahabharata war.
Speaking at the launch of Congress leader Mohsina Kidwai’s biography on Thursday, Patil said, “It is said that there’s a lot of discussion on jihad in Islam. Even after all the efforts, if someone doesn’t understand the clean idea, power can be used. It is mentioned in the Quran and Bhagavad Gita,” he had said.
However, the BJP picked up the issue to target Congress. BJP national spokesperson Prem Shukla said the Congress has long been involved in the conspiracy to “insult Hindu, Hindutva and Hindustan” and Patil’s remarks are another chapter towards this.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Thursday tweeted, “After AAP’s Gopal Italia & Rajendra Pal, not to be outdone in Hindu hatred & vote bank politics, Congress’ Shivraj Patil says Shri Krishna taught ‘Jihad’ to Arjun! Congress coined Hindu/saffron terror, opposed Ram Mandir, questioned Ram Ji’s existence, said Hindutva=ISIS (sic),” Poonawalla tweeted.
Patil later clarified that he was simply asking a question of whether a “rightful fight against the oppressor, like the fight in the Mahabharata”, could be called jihad as well. “It is you who is calling it jihad,” he told the media.
The Congress responded to Patil’s remarks by calling it unacceptable. Congress’ communication head, Jairam Ramesh, said, “My senior colleague Shivraj Patil reportedly made some comments on the Bhagavad Gita. That’s unacceptable. Subsequently, he clarified.
The stand of Congress is clear. The Bhagavad Gita is a key foundational pillar of Indian civilisation,” he said. Ramesh also posted an excerpt from The Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru quoting the part about the Gita.