Union minister V K Singh on Sunday warned Muslims, who supported the presence of Pakistan founder’s portrait in the Aligarh Muslim University, and said they were “insulting” their forefathers who had rejected his ideology. “If you are a Muslim and want Jinnah’s portrait on your walls, then this is a huge insult of your forefathers who had rejected his ideology. You are an Indian today because of them,” Singh said in a social media post. A controversy has erupted over the presence of Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s portrait in AMU, with BJP leaders demanding its removal. A picture of the man responsible for India’s division cannot be accepted in a public-funded institution, they said. “If you are not a Muslim, but support the portrait’s presence because you think that protests against it curbs your freedom, then you should think if you would like on the walls of your house a picture of somebody whose hands are stained with the blood of your own people,” he said in another post. The Union Minister said that freedom was everybody’s right. “.But we tend to forget that how many great people shed their blood in achieving it. Will they be proud today of the manner in which you are using your freedom?” the former Army chief asked in the post titled ‘Let us protect our freedom from abusers.’ In the post, apparently addressing AMU students, the BJP leader said it is one of the leading universities in the country and they (the students) should be aware of the expectations the country has from them.
