Jinnah Row: Akhilesh Tells Detractors to ‘Read Books’; Indian or Pak, Asks BJP

BJP said that glorifying Jinnah will prove costly to the Samajwadi Party chief.

File photo of Akhilesh Yadav.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/AkhileshYadav)

Akhilesh Yadav made a controversial remark while addressing a rally in Hardoi on Sunday, 7 November. The Samajwadi Party chief said:

"Sardar Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Jinnah studied at the same institute and became barristers. They became barristers and they fought for India's freedom. They never backed away from any struggle.”

Offended by his statements, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said that these remarks were "shameful and condemnable."

At an event in Lucknow on Saturday, Yadav, when asked to comment on the controversy he had sparked, replied, "Why should I say the context? I would say read the books again."

This statement has further drawn some sharp reactions. UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh, said in a tweet:

"The love for Jinnah still remains intact. Akhilesh Yadavji please tell which history books have to be read – the Indian or the Pakistani."

Singh had said that glorifying Jinnah will prove costly to the Samajwadi Party chief, as the country still considers Jinnah a "villain," according to NDTV.

Yogi's ministerial colleague Anand Swaroop Shukla told reporters in Ballia:

"Jinnah is a villain, who no Indian would like to see or listen to. Akhilesh Yadav must clarify as to under which pressure, greed, is he glorifying Jinnah? I want Akhilesh Yadav to himself come forward, and get his narco test done."

Samajwadi Party's Ballia district unit chief, Raj Mangal Yadav, said there will be protests against the minister and he will not be allowed to enter the district if the administration doesn't take action against him.

(With Inputs from NDTV and Business Standard)