News Analysis India

Tag: Muhammad Ali Jinnah

  • Jinnah continues to dominate UP’s political discourse as Yogi now calls Akhilesh Taliban supporter

    By Express News Service

    LUCKNOW:  Hitting out at SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused him of being a “Taliban supporter” as he “eulogised Jinnah”. 

    “Those who support Muhammad Ali Jinnah, in a way support the Taliban,” said the CM while attacking the Opposition at a social conference organised by the BJP to strengthen its ground force ahead of the 2022 UP Assembly elections.

    Cautioning against the opposition parties and listing out his government’s achievements, the CM said: “One has to be careful with such people. BJP has done what it said. Article 370 from Kashmir was removed. Today a grand Ram temple is being built in Ayodhya. Before 2014, the benefit of housing scheme was available to those who were close to the people in power, but today the  poor are being given housing without any discrimination.”

    His remark is seen as a veiled dig at the Samajwadi Party (SP).

    Om Prakash Rajbhar, the chief of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an ally of the SP, had on Thursday blamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for the country’s partition, a day after saying India would have remained unified had Muhammad Ali Jinnah been made its first prime minister.

    Earlier, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had equated Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, with Mahatma Gandhi, Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru.

    With months to go for the Assembly polls in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, Jinnah appears to be dominating the political discourse.

    Addressing the Samajik Pratinidhi Sammelan here, Adityanath said, “Those who are speaking about the partition are in a way extending support to the Taliban. As soon as the Taliban resurfaced in Afghanistan, a number of voices started to come up in its support. When strong action was taken, these voices went soft.”

    “Supporting the Taliban means supporting a power that works against humanity, against Lord Buddha’s message of ‘maitri’ (friendship). Certain people are moving in that direction and we need to be aware of them,” he added.

    The BJP leader said those supporting the Taliban need to learn from the past “We should not forget how Buddha’s statues were destroyed in Bamiyan (in Afghanistan) by the Taliban. Breaking the statues of Buddha means trying to put an end to peace. Twenty years ago, when this incident took place, we thought that one day, they (Taliban) will face ‘durgati’ (misfortune). A few days later, the US dropped bombs on them. Back then, I had said they reaped what they sowed,” he said.

    Without naming any political party, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, “The opposition does not have any issue to raise. Rashtranayak (national hero) Sardar Patel is on one side and Jinnah, who divided the country, is on the other. They support Jinnah and insult Patel. But we support Patel. He is a rashtranayak while Jinnah will remain a villain for centuries. Will you support those supporting Jinnah?”

    Referring to history books, he said, “History never termed emperor Ashoka or Chandragupta Maurya great, but it termed Alexander, who was defeated by Chandragupta Maurya, great. Historians are silent on such issues. However, once the countrymen learn the truth, India will change.”

    Hitting back at Adityanath, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted, “Hindutva is a fake history factory. Chandragupta and Alexander never met in war. This is yet another example of why we need good public education system. In absence of good schools, Baba-log get to make up facts according to convenience. Baba doesn’t value education and it shows.”

    Showering praises on Narendra Modi, Adityanath said the prime minister is making the country resurgent and the philosophy of “Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat” entails this.

    Addressing a public meeting in Hardoi, the SP chief had said, “Sardar Patel, Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Jinnah studied in the same institute and became barristers. They helped the country achieve independence and never backed away from any struggle.”

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Yogi Adityanath hits out at Akhilesh Yadav for ‘comparing’ Jinnah with Sardar Patel

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday attacked Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav for “comparing” Muhammad Ali Jinnah with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, saying Talibani mentality believed in breaking the society.

    Yadav on Sunday spoke of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and Jinnah in the same breath as leaders who fought for India’s independence, prompting a criticism from the BJP.

    “I was listening to Akhilesh ji’s statement yesterday. He was comparing Jinnah, who divided the country, with Sardar Patel, who brought the nation together. This is a shameful statement,” Adityanath said in a programme in Moradabad.

    He said “Talibani mentality” believes in breaking the society.

    ​ALSO READ | Mayawati alleges collusion between SP, BJP over Akhilesh Yadav’s Jinnah remark

    “Sometimes it is in the name of caste….When they are not succeeding, they are raising fingers at ‘mahapurush’ (great personalities) and insulting the entire society,” he said.

    The chief minister said this cannot be accepted and everyone should condemn it.

    “Yadav should regret his statement as insulting Sardar Patel will not be accepted,” he added.

    “Sardar Patel is the basis of India’s unity and integrity, and also is the nation’s architect,” he said, adding that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the belief of ‘ek Bharat, shresth Bharat’ is being taken forward.

    The credit of keeping free India ‘undivided’ goes to Sardar Patel, Adityanath said.

    The divisive mentality of glorifying Jinnah by comparing him with Sardar Patel is back in light, the chief minister said.

    “I think the people of the country, especially those from Uttar Pradesh, will never accept this divisive mentality,” he added.

    ​ALSO READ | Akhilesh Yadav not to contest Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, announces tie-up with RLD

    The BSP hit out at Yadav on Monday for speaking of the four leaders in the same breath and alleged that there is a “collusion” between the SP and the BJP.

    In a tweet in Hindi, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati alleged that Yadav’s remarks on Jinnah and the BJP’s response to it are part of a well-thought-out strategy of the two parties to vitiate the atmosphere on Hindu-Muslim lines ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

    AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also criticised Yadav’s remarks, saying that Muslims who stayed in india had rejected Jinnah’s two-nation theory and the SP leader should instead talk about the present.

    The SP president, in his address at an event in Hardoi on Sunday, had lavished praise on Patel on his 146th birth anniversary but raised eyebrows at one point when he appeared to equate the four leaders, including Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.

    The SP leader had said, “Sardar Patel understood the ground and he made decisions accordingly. Hence, he is also known as Iron Man.”

    “Sardar Patel, Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah studied in the same institute and became barristers. They helped (India) get freedom and never backed away from any struggle,” Yadav had said.

    He had also referred to the ban imposed on the RSS by Patel, the then home minister, following Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in 1948, saying only he could do it.