Akhilesh Yadav faces BJP flak for naming Sardar Patel, Muhammad Ali Jinnah together

Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party (SP) boss and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has triggered a row after he spoke of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the same breath, saying all of them fought for India’s independence.

Yadav faced a backlash from many Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders who said equating Sardar Patel with Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, was an insult to the person who fought for the unity of the country.

READ:People of UP have made up their minds to elect Samajwadi Party govt in 2022 UP Assembly polls, says Akhilesh Yadav

“While those in power today remember Saradar Patel ji, they should also remember his struggle. His struggle for the farmers. If they are true followers of him, they should withdraw the three (farm) laws today itself,” Yadav was heard saying while addressing a rally on the 146th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, on October 31,

#WATCH | Sardar Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah studied in the same institute. They became barristers and fought for India's freedom... It was Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who imposed a ban on an ideology (RSS): SP chief Akhilesh Yadav pic.twitter.com/Pz3HkSrqn8

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 31, 2021
“Sardar Patelji, the nation’s father Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Jinnah became barristers after studying at the same institute. They studied at the same place. They became barristers, got us Independence. They did not step back from any kind of struggle. There was one ideology which was resisted by Sardar Patelji. Today, the same people who claim to be uniting the country are dividing you and me on the lines of caste and religion,” Yadav said.

Also, read: BJP’s all-caste push in UP in run up to the assembly elections

BJP’s Uttar Pradesh chief Swatantra Dev Singh targeted Yadav, asking why he “praised” Jinnah.

सरदार पटेल जी की जयंती पर @yadavakhilesh मोहम्मद अली जिन्ना का गुणगान क्यों कर रहे है? pic.twitter.com/FWRVPX9eYO

— Swatantra Dev Singh (@swatantrabjp) October 31, 2021

BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav's father, will also regret after hearing what his son has said.

“The country considers Muhammad Ali Jinnah as the villain of the Partition. Calling Jinnah the hero of freedom is the politics of Muslim appeasement,” he said. Uttar Pradesh is going to polls early next year.

Minister of state for minority welfare Mohsin Raza accused Yadav of insulting great men of the country.

विभाजनकारी जिन्ना की विचारधारा राष्ट्रपिता महात्मा गाँधी जी,सरदार पटेल, जवाहर लाल नेहरू की विचारधारा है कह कर अखिलेश जी ने देश के महापुरुषों का अपमान किया है 1/2

— Mohsin Raza (@Mohsinrazabjpup) October 31, 2021