Gorakhpur MP likens Jinnah to Gandhi, Nehru
GORAKHPUR: Wading into the controversy over the portrait of Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah on AMU campus, newlyelected MP from Gorakhpur Praveen Nishad on Friday said like Gandhi and Nehru, Jinnah also played a role in freedom struggle.
“Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is politicising the issue which is highly condemnable. Like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, Jinnah also contributed to the freedom movement,” Nishad said.
Accusing the BJP of trying to flare up communal passions, he said the party was indulging in divisive politics for political gains ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
“Like Hindus, Muslims also participated in freedom struggle and their contribution is well documented. The BJP is dividing people on the basis of caste and religion by raising such issues,” he said. “When we talk about Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, we also remember Ashfaqullah Khan and Veer Abdul Hameed who laid down their lives for the country. BJP wants people to forget their contribution,” he said.
Praveen, son of NISHAD Party president Sanjay Nishad, was backed by the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as the joint candidate for Gorakhpur Lok Sabha by-election.
The BJP MP from Aligarh Satish Gautam had stirred up a controversy by writing to AMU vice chancellor Tariq Mansoor, seeking to know the logic behind Jinnah’s portrait on the university campus.
Within hours of Gautam’s letter going public, UP minister Swami Prasad Maurya of the BJP described Gautam’s demand for removal of Jinnah’s portrait as ‘ghatiya’ (cheap).