A day after India’s largest Islamic seminary ‘Darul Uloom Deoband’ issued a ‘fatwa’ saying Muslims should not say “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said that those who are not willing to say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ have no right to stay in the country.
“Some people say we will not say Bharat Mata ki Jai. Then what? Pakistan ki jai or China ki jai?.. If you want to live in this country then you have to say Bharat Mata ki Jai, otherwise you have no right to live here,” Fadnavis said, while addressing a gathering of BJP workers’ rally in Nashik, ANI reported.
An NDTV report quoted Chief Minister Fadnavis: “There are crores of people in this country who feel one must say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and those who can’t praise Bharat Mata don’t have the right to live in this country.”
Giving a fresh life to the controversy over the slogan, Fadnavis’s comments are likely to further intensify the ongoing debate on nationalism.
(With agency inputs)
Feature image source: PTI