NAGPUR: A top functionary of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Friday slammed Congress veteran Shivraj Patil over his claim that the Bhagavad Gita also spoke of jihad and said the remarks were made to garner cheap publicity and create confusion in the society.
Talking to reporters here, VHP secretary-general Milind Parande accused the former Union minister of indulging in minority appeasement.
Patil on Thursday claimed the concept of jihad (holy war) was not just in Islam but also in the Bhagavad Gita and Christianity.
Speaking at the launch of Congress veteran and former Union minister Mohsina Kidwai's biography, the former Lok Sabha Speaker stated that there is a lot of discussion of jihad in the religion of Islam.
"It is not just in the Quran, but in the Mahabharata also, the part in Gita, Shri Krishna also talks of jihad to Arjun and this thing is not just in the Quran or the Gita but also in Christianity," he claimed in his remarks.
Asked about Patil's comments, Parande said they were irresponsible and aimed at garnering cheap publicity and creating confusion in the society.
"I don't know which Gita he (Patil) has read. There is no mention of jihad in the Gita," the VHP leader said.
Asked about the alleged assault on members from a minority community by Bajrang Dal workers at a 'garba' programme during the Navratri festival in Ahmedabad, the VHP leader feigned ignorance about the incident and said he does not know what exactly happened there.
Parande, however, maintained members from a particular community enter venues of such programmes with false names.
"There may have been such incidents out of excitement. Otherwise, we just create awareness. We will have to see whether such a thing actually happened as everything that comes in news is not true," said the VHP leader.
Asked about a mass religious conversion event held in New Delhi earlier this month, Parande said "The Buddhist community is our own and hence we consider its members as our own."
"As far as the Vishva Hindu Parishad is concerned, it considers every religion that took birth in India - be it Buddhism, Jainism or Sikhism - as its own. We believe that Buddhists are also our own," he said.