New Delhi: Union Minority Affairs Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Najma Heptullah on Friday clarified that she had used the word 'Hindi' and not 'Hindu' in her reported remarks that the term is used to identify all Indian citizens.
Clarifying her statement, the Cabinet Minister said that she was misinterpreted by the newspaper in her interview.
“I had used the word Hindi, I did not use the word Hindu,” the BJP minister asserted, adding the Hindi term is used in the Arab world to identify Indians.
A huge controversy erupted after a newspaper reported that the Minority Affairs Minister endorsed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat's view saying that there is nothing wrong in calling all Indians Hindus.
"The cultural identity of all Indians is Hindutva and the present inhabitants of the country are descendants of this great culture," Bhagwat had said.
Earlier today, sharp reactions came from the political parties.
Reacting to the newspaper report, Congress leader Manish Tewari told ANI that Article 1 of Constitution talks of India as Bharat, therefore Indians are 'Bharatiyas' not Hindus.
The criticism came from other quarters as well. NCP leader Tariq Anwar said, “If Najma Heptulla has said something like this, it is unfortunate. Just to be in power she is giving such statements.”
Earlier, Tewari had lambasted RSS chief and said Bhagwat would be well-advised to read the Constitution which very specifically states that India is Bharat, a union of state, and the word "Hindustan" is nowhere mentioned.
The BJP leader's comments come days after the RSS chief received a huge flak from non-BJP parties for his suggestion that all Hindustanis are Hindus with many leaders wondering if he has read the Constitution and really believes in it.
The RSS chief further went on to say that Hindutva is a way of life and Hindus could be of any religion worshipping any God or not worshipping at all.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray had supported Bhagwat's view, saying that there is nothing wrong in his remarks.
"I support the comments made by Mohan Bhagwat. When he says that India is a Hindu nation, what's wrong with it. Balasaheb Thackeray used to say the same thing for a long time. So how can we change our stand on the issue today?" Uddhav said.
Seeking to downplay the row over Bhagwat's comments, BJP leader Vinay katiyar said, "what he(Bhagwat) meant by 'Hindu' was 'Hindustani'. He never spoke about interfering in religious practices of people."
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