‘Shameful’: UP CM Yogi Adityanath slams Akhilesh Yadav's 'Patel-Jinnah' remark, terms it ‘Talibani mentality’
Referring to the remark, Yogi Adityanath called it "shameful" and accused the SP chief of having a Talibani mindset that divides people.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday lashed out at Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav who stoked a controversy with his comments counting Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, among freedom icons of India.
Akhilesh Yadav at a rally on Sunday in Uttar Pradesh commented against India’s first deputy prime minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Pakistan’s Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the same breath. Yadav 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.
Yadav's remark drew strong criticism from a number of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on Sunday.
Further, attacking the BJP as well as its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Yadav pointed out that it was Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who imposed a ban on an ideology. Today the same people who talk about uniting the country are trying to divide us on the basis of religion and caste, he had said on Sunday.
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Referring to the remark, Yogi Adityanath called it "shameful" and accused the SP chief of having a Talibani mindset that divides people.
The Samajwadi Party chief yesterday compared Jinnah to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. This is shameful. It's a Talibani mentality that believes in dividing. Sardar Patel united the country. Presently, under the leadership of the Prime Minister [Narendra Modi], work is underway to achieve ‘Ek Bharat, Shresth Bharat’, news agency ANI quoted Adityanath as saying.
Yesterday, his divisive mindset came to the fore once again when he tried to glorify Jinnah by likening him to Sardar Patel. I think that the people of Uttar Pradesh and India will never accept this divisive mindset. This is the Talibani mindset, he added.