Bengaluru: The BJP staged protest rallies in the district headquarters of Karnataka on Wednesday, demanding an unconditional apology from Karnataka Congress Working President Satish Jarkiholi for his anti-Hindu remark.
The party staged protests in Bengaluru and Belagavi, among other district headquarters in the state. Speaking to the media, the protestors said that Jarkiholi’s remark clearly indicates the Congress’s history of insulting Hindus and Hinduism.
BJP MLA Sanjay Patil, who is leading the protest in Belagavi city, said it is unfair to call Hindu as vulgar and threw a challenge at Jarkiholi saying that he is ready for a discussion with him if he brings proof.
“There are many documents to prove the greatness of Hindu culture,” he said.
Party spokesperson Malvika Avinash in Bengaluru said the Congress will pay a heavy price for the statement and there are many written records to disprove Jarkiholi’s anti-Hindu remark.
Meanwhile, Jarkiholi challenged Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to set up a committee to probe whether he had said anything wrong.
Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar said that the controversial statement is Jarkiholi’s personal view. “Jarkiholi himself has clarified that he had made the statements on a different platform and there was no connection with the party,” he said.
Earlier Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the Congress is engaged in appeasement policy just for the sake of votes and making such half-baked statements without any in-depth study.
“Through such statements, Congress leaders are trying to disturb the foundation of the belief of every Indian. Creating problems within any country amounts to the act of anti-nationalism. Everyone must condemn such acts,” he added.
Bommai questioned the silence of former AICC President Rahul Gandhi and LoP Siddaramaiah on Jarkiholi’s statement. “Is their silence an indirect support for Jarikiholi’s statements?” he asked.
Jarkiholi is a strong anti-superstition activist in Karnataka and was one of the advocates for the passing of a Karnataka anti-superstition bill by Siddaramaiah-led Congress government.
Prior to this, in 2015, he had even tendered his resignation for failure of the Siddaramaiah government to move on the anti-superstition bill.
