Karnataka leader Satish Jarkiholi calls 'Hindu' word 'vulgar', Cong rejects statement

. Congress has distanced itself from the statement, condemning the remarks 'unequivocally'

Karnataka Congress working president Satish Jarkiholi stirred up a controversy with his comments that the word 'Hindu' was Persian and its meaning is "very dirty".

This left the Congress embarrassed, forcing the high command to step in and describe the former minister's comments as "deeply unfortunate".

"Where did the word 'Hindu' come from? Is it ours? It's Persian, which covers places such as Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. What does it have to do with Bharat? How did the word 'Hindu' become yours? This must be discussed," Jarkiholi said at the Manav Bandhutva Vedike event at Nippani town in Belagavi on Sunday night. A video of his comments went viral Monday.

"Look at WhatsApp, Wikipedia on where the word came from. It's not yours. Still, you are carrying it. It's not your word," Jarkiholi insisted, speaking in Hindi. "If you understand the meaning of the word 'Hindu', you'll be ashamed. The meaning is very dirty. This is already on the website. You are imposing on us a religion, a word that comes from somewhere else," he said.

On Monday evening, Jarkiholi clarified that whatever he said was not his personal interpretation and that he was only referring to the word 'Hindu' based on Wikipedia and articles by various authors.

By then, however, the Congress had condemned his remarks.

"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," AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a tweet. "The statement attributed to Satish Jarkiholi is deeply unfortunate & deserves to be rejected. We condemn it unequivocally," said Surjewala, who oversees the party's affairs in Karnataka.

Jarkiholi's controversy came ahead of the BJP Jana Sankalpa Yatra's entry into Belagavi on Tuesday. Also, it came at a time when a section of Congress leaders is trying to convince the new AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge that the party should adopt 'soft Hindutva' to counter the BJP's hardline approach.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla linked Jarkiholi's comments to senior Congress leader Shivraj Patil's recent statement that even the Bhagawad Gita dealt with the concept of jihad. "Once again, Congress has done what it does best - to spew venom and hatred against Hindus and try to insult the Hindu faith. There's a competition between AAP, AIMIM and Congress on who can abuse and insult Hindus more," he said.