Shatrughan Sinha is currently under fire over his comments praising Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the architect of partition of India. However, to save his face he has claimed that his comments were just a ‘slip of tongue’ and he had intended to say Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Republic TV has accessed a video showing Shatrughan Sinha praising Muhammad Ali Jinnah a day before the said incident had taken place.
On April 26, while addressing a poll rally in the presence of Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, Sinha had said:
“This is a Congress family; it is a family of all from Mahatma Gandhi to Vallabhbhai Patel to Muhammad Ali Jinnah to Nehru to Late Indira Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi to Rahul Gandhi to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. It is a party, they have played a significant role in the development of the country, in advancing the country, in country’s freedom, and therefore I joined this party, and once I am here, I will not go back.”
A day later on April 27, Shatrughan Sinha in his defense, in an interview given to Republic TV said: “Zara si bat ka afsana bana diya. Mai Maulana Abul Kalam Azad kehna chah raha tha. (You have created a story out of a small thing. I wanted to say Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. I was in a flow, and there was this slight slip of the tongue.)”
However, in a video assessed by Republic TV, Shatrughan Sinha is seen repeating the same ‘Jinnah is part of Congress’ lines in an event in Mumbai on April 25.
So the question that arises here is if the ‘slip of tongue’ was just an excuse to evade the entire backlash for his Jinnah being a hero comment? Shatrughan Sinha’s entry in the fold has become more of a liability than an asset. His comments also indicate towards the hidden mindset which prevails in a large section of leaders in the Congress. A party going to the lengths of praising the architect of partition and other events of communal violence only indicates towards the ideological bankruptcy that is prevailing in the opposition camp.
Jinnah, who was he flag bearer of the separatist ideology during the freedom struggle, rooted for the creation of Pakistan. While many opposed creation of a nation state based on religious ideology, formation of Pakistan got major support from the infamous Muslim league which was headed by Jinnah. Partition of India saw around 14 million people migrating and the deaths of lakhs of Indians.
Recently PC Chako of the Congress had also praised separatist Yasin Malik, chief of the banned group Jammu Kashmir Liberation Force had said “If Pragya Singh Thakur, a convicted person, an accused person, can contest an election, and in the name of separatism, Delhi is asking him (Yasin Malik) at gun point to surrender, anyone with self respect will react the way Mr. Yasin Malik did.“ He also praised him for his ‘courage’. Yasin Malik was arrested recently by the NIA in the alleged ‘terror funding” case.
India, over the past few years has been seeing the opposition parties acting as apologists for separatist and terrorist forces. This incident, involving senior leaders of Congress, only reiterates the new trend that a few parties have taken up, in order to polarize and appease the minority voters. Comments like these are not only disrespectful to Indian freedom fighters who lost their lives for India’s independence but also a slap on the face of crores of Indians, whose forefathers had to flee ‘Pakistan’ to save their families. This also sets a dangerous precedent as terrorists and separatists may get a hint of support in such comments.