‘Rahul Gandhi, do you agree’: Fadnavis on Jarkiholi's Shivaji-poison statement

BJP's Amit Malviya also questioned Rahul Gandhi's stand on Congress leader Satish Jarkiholi's statement on Shivaji Maharaj.

Amid row over Karnataka Congress president Satish Jarkiholi's anti-Hindu statement which he withdrew and apologised for, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis questioned Rahul Gandhi whether he agrees to what Jarkiholi said on Shivaji Maharaj. Sharing a video of Jarkiholi in which he purportedly commented on Shivaji Maharaj and Sambhaji Maharaj, Fadnavis tweeted, "Do you agree with this non-sensical, misleading, insulting lie spewed out by your party's MLA, about the great Chhatrapati Sambhaji maharaj? Is this your Congress Party's official statement? Maharashtra will not tolerate this."

Devendra Fadnavis slammed Congress leader Satish Jarkiholi's satement on Shivaji Maharaj.

BJP's Amit Malviya said Rahul Gandhi should clarify whether he endorses Jakriholi's statement, as he is now touring Maharashtra with his Bharat Jodo Yatra. "Rahul Gandhi is in Maharashtra for Bharat Jodo Yatra and his Karnataka MLA and motor mouth Satish Jarkiholi is insulting Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Does Rahul Gandhi endorse this position of a senior Congress leader? Unless he clarifies, his intentions will remain suspect," Amit Malviya said.

In the undated video, Jarkiholi talked about Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji Maharaj, some poisoning and the British killing Sambhaji Maharaj. "It is another aspect of history that Sambhaji was later called Dharamveer," the Congress leader purportedly said.

The Congress leader was at the centre of controversy as he recntly said Hindu is a bad word. Facing flak, he withdrew the statement and apologised for it. However, Jarkiholi said he withdrew his statement to avoud a backlash while he believes that what he said about the origin of the word 'Hindu' was correct. “I will try to prove my words in the coming days. I will meet historians in this regard… I had spoken at a private function and I didn’t think it would become such a big issue. But, I am a leader in the Congress party. The party should not be affected by my statements. That’s why I have apologised and taken back my statement,” he said.