Higher education minister Basavaraj Rayareddi at the event in Koppal on Sunday
Koppal: Higher education minister Basavaraj Rayareddi Monday said his remarks praising Islam were misconstrued while insisting there was nothing wrong in describing the religion as great. Clarifying his remarks, Rayareddi said he was referring to values and ideals in Islam that he admired. I only said there are certain admirable qualities in Islam. That does not mean other religions are bad,’’ he said. Rayareddi said all religions were great and that appreciating one faith in a particular context did not amount to denigrating others. No religion is bad,’’ he said. Earlier, Rayareddi had said Islam was a religion of humanity and urged people to adopt the good principles of every faith rather than merely visiting places of worship. This religion teaches how a human should live in society,’’ he said. “Anyone can read the Quran; I am also ready to study the Quran.”
He insisted he had not suggested other faiths were inferior. “What is wrong with saying Islam is a great religion? “This kind of discussion is not good. We speak about religions depending on the context. Every single religion is great. “But wrong notions are being spread about Islam.
He said ministers were bound by their constitutional oath to treat all faiths equally. BJP MP and former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said Rayareddi “had hurt sentiments of people” belonging to other religions and alleged that his remarks could disturb communal harmony. Legislative council LoP Chalavadi Narayanswamy accused Congress of appeasement politics and said Rayareddi’s remarks were unacceptable. What is the issue?’’ Priyank said. Mohan Bhagwat ji said the same thing, didn’t he? Now, BJP has grown bigger than RSS,” Priyank said.
Meanwhile, opposition BJP continued to attack Basavaraj Rayareddi over his remarks on Islam with opposition leader R Ashoka accusing him of ranking religions. However, home minister Priyank Kharge defended Rayareddi, saying people could learn from the values of different faiths. “There are certain aspects of Islam, Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism that anybody can adopt and should adopt. What is wrong with that? He questioned BJP’s criticism and referred to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks on Muslims. “Why are BJP members attacking him (Rayareddi)?