LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday sought to defend his widely criticised statement equating Muhammad Ali Jinnah with Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru and saying they helped India get freedom even as an UP minister suggested a narco test for him for “glorifying” the Pakistani leader.
As the row over Yadav’s comments raged, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, without naming the SP leader, described the remarks as “shameful and condemnable” and warned people against political parties which equate Sardar Patel with Jinnah.
Yadav on his part hit out at his detractors, asking them to read history books again. Asked by reporters in Lucknow about his response to the row over his remarks that had kicked up a controversy ahead of the Assembly elections in UP, the former chief minister shot back, “Why should I say the context? I would say read the books again.”
Yadav’s counter-attack drew a sharp response from UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh, who tweeted, “The love for Muhammad Ali Jinnah still remains intact. Akhilesh Yadav ji, please tell which history books have to be read — Indian or Pakistani.”