BELAGAVI: A day after stirring controversy by claiming that the word ‘Hindu’ is Persian and has a dirty meaning, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Satish Jarkiholi on Tuesday said that he neither will apologise nor resign as MLA until his remarks are proved wrong by the government or anyone.
He challenged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to constitute a committee to bring out the truth about the origin of the word Hindu.
“Let the chief minister get into the truth of the matter by giving a month’s time to the committee,” he elaborated. While defending his statement, Satish said he had referred to several records and information on the Internet before commenting on the origin of the word Hindu. “It was not my personal opinion or assumption but an attempt made to dig into the facts tracing the origin of the word,” he clarified.
The word Hindu originated from the Persian language and the facts about it are available in a dictionary published in 1964, he said, adding, “I feel there is a need for a debate on my statement. Unfortunately, discussions are being held on unrelated topics, deviating from the core issue of how the word Hindu came into use. I am ready to quit as MLA and tender an apology if I am proved wrong.” Jarkiholi repeated his statement that the word ‘Hindu’ was referred to as a bad word in Wikipedia and that was what he exactly stated during his speech in Nippani , Belagavi district, on Monday.
“I have not issued a statement against any religion, caste or community. We have the governments headed by the BJP at the State and Centre. Let them launch an inquiry to find out the truth. I am prepared to furnish historical facts and records to anyone who is willing to have a debate on the issue,’’ he said. Hitting out at the BJP leadership, Satish said, “Let us have a debate on the origin of the word Hindu on an independent platform comprising experts from both sides.
I too have a team of experts and intellectuals with me. If the issue is debated by some sections of people
without any logic, it would not have any significance,’’ he added.
SHETTAR DARES CONG TO EXPEL SATISH
Hubballi: Senior BJP leader and former CM Jagadish Shettar has lashed out at the Congress over the recent statements on the origin of the word ‘Hindu’ by KPCC working president Satish Jarkiholi. Shettar dared the Congress to expel Satish. “It seems the Congress is allergic towards the word ‘Hindu’. Dragging a non-issue into a discussion, that too at this juncture, shows how ignorant they are. The Congress finds solace in abusing Hindus, the tradition and culture. It wants to project itself as anti-Hindu to garner Minority votes,” he added. “As the Congress realised that it is not getting Hindu votes, their leader Rahul Gandhi is claiming himself to be a Hindu-brahmin, flaunting the Janevu,” he added.