NEW DELHI: The BJP on Friday stepped up its attack against the Congress over its leader Shivraj Patil's claim that Bhagavad Gita also spoke of jihad, saying that this is one more attempt to smear Hindutva by the opposition party, which disassociated itself from the remarks, terming them as "unacceptable".
The Congress also said the former governor and former Union home minister has clarified his comments and asserted that Bhagavad Gita is a key foundational pillar of Indian civilization.
Attacking the Congress, BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi demanded that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge or its leader Sonia Gandhi should respond to Patil's comments.
He noted that Mahatma Gandhi in his commentary on the Hindu epic had described it as a source of 'Anasakti Yoga' (selfless action) while Bal Gangadhar Tilak expounded his philosophy of 'Karma Yoga' through his study of Gita and added that Congress leaders now see jihad in it.
BJP national spokesperson Prem Shukla alleged that Congress has long been involved in the conspiracy to "insult Hindu, Hindutva and Hindustan" and Patil's remarks are yet another chapter towards this.
Congress leaders in the past have drawn a parallel between Hindutva with terror organisations like Boko Haram and Taliban, he alleged.
Former Union ministers Sushilkumar Shinde and P Chidambaram had spoken about "saffron terror", he said.
Gita is the philosophy of humanity, Shukla asserted.
The BJP also accused the Congress party of playing vote bank politics.
With the BJP seizing on Patil's remarks to corner it, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter to give the party's view.
"My senior colleague Shivraj Patil reportedly made some comments on Bhagavad Gita that's unacceptable. Subsequently, he clarified. The Congress's stand is clear. Bhagavad Gita is a key foundational pillar of Indian civilisation," he said.
He also shared on Twitter excerpts from Jawaharlal Nehru's book 'The Discovery of India', wherein the former prime minister wrote: "The message of the Gita is not sectarian or addressed to any particular school of thought. It is universal in its approach for everyone, Brahmin or outcaste. 'All paths lead to me,' it says. It is because of this universality that it has found favour with all classes and schools."
Patil on Thursday claimed that the concept of jihad was not just in Islam but also in Bhagavad Gita and Christianity.
Speaking at the launch of Congress veteran and former Union minister Mohsina Kidwai's biography, Patil, also a former Lok Sabha Speaker, said it is said there is a lot of discussion of jihad in the religion of Islam. The concept comes to the fore when despite having the right intentions and doing the right thing, nobody understands or reciprocates, then it is said one can use force, he said.
"It is not just in Quran, but in Mahabharata also, the part in Gita, Shri Krishna also talks of jihad to Arjun and this thing is not just in Quran or Gita but also in Christianity," he claimed in his remarks in Hindi.
Reacting to Patil's comments, 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," Poonawalla tweeted.