BENGALURU: A day after Home Minister G Parameshwara kicked up a row by questioning the origin of the Hindu religion, he defended his statement on Wednesday and said that all he meant was religions came into existence for the good of mankind.
Taking part in the Teachers’ Day function organised at his home constituency Koratagere in Tumakuru district on Tuesday, Parameshwara said, “It still remains a question when did the Hindu religion take birth and who gave birth to it. Buddhism was born in India. Jainism has its roots in India. Islam and Christianity came from foreign countries. But if you analyse, the summary of all these (religions) is to do good for mankind.”
Parameshwara’s statement soon snowballed into a controversy as the video of his speech went viral on social media on Wednesday. BJP leaders attacked the home minister for his statement and demanded that he apologise for it.
Former chief minister BS Yediyurappa said Parameshwara’s statement is condemnable. Demanding the home minister’s apology, BJP leader and former minister KS Eshwarappa said Parameshwara had no right to talk about the Hindu religion. Former minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan said that the home minister should think about why was he named Parameshwara.
Parameshwara defended that he said nothing controversial. “What is wrong with my statement? I was speaking about Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s works on comparative religion and said that the summary of all religions is one and the same. You should see what I have stated later. I have said the Hindu Dharma has put the foundation for it, which is Shanti Mantra (Peace). Is there anything wrong with it?” he said.
He attacked the BJP leaders for allegedly projecting his statement as controversial for political reasons and he is ready to answer them. Reacting to the development, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said, “I am proud to be an Indian and a Hindu.”
Meanwhile, in connection with the FIR registered against him in UP, Minister Priyank Kharge said that he is ready to face the case legally. Defending his statement, the minister stated he had not spoken against any religion.
