CONG DISTANCES ITSELF FROM PATIL’S REMARK AS BJP MOUNTS ATTACK

NEW DELHI: A day after former Union minister and senior Congress leader Shivraj Patil sparked a controversy with his remarks on the ‘jihad’ being mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita, the party on Friday hit out at the leader saying his stand was “unacceptable”.

Speaking at the launch of Congress veteran and former Union minister Mohsina Kidwai’s biography on October 20, Patil drew parallels between Hinduism and Islam by saying: “Jihad is not only mentioned in Quran. The part of the Gita in Mahabharata also mentioned that Shri Krishna taught lessons of jihad to Arjun.”

On Friday, Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh tweeted: “My senior colleague Shivraj Patil reportedly made some comments on Bhagavad Gita that’s unacceptable... @INCIndia’s stand is clear. Bhagavad Gita is a key foundational pillar of Indian civilisation.”

Patil later clarified that his remark was towards raising the question of whether Lord Krishna’s lesson to Arjun would be considered jihad. “Will you call Krishna’s lessons to Arjun jihad? No. That’s what I was saying.” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla reacted strongly to the remarks. “This is the same party that coined the term ‘saffron terror’.”