Congress leader says 'Jinnah, Nehru divided country in act of wisdom'

Congress MLA and former cabinet minister of Madhya Pradesh, Sajjan Singh Verma, has claimed that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah divided the country "as an act of wisdom".

The Congress leader termed Jinnah a "freedom fighter" and said that he did the "right thing" by dividing the country.

The remarks of the former cabinet minister came while addressing the media on Wednesday.


"The division of the country into two by Nehru and Jinnah was an act of wisdom. Jinnah was a freedom fighter, and this should be remembered. He did not break the country but did the right thing. Was he not a freedom fighter?" he said.

Verma hit out at the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh and at the Centre, asking if the "definition of freedom fighter changes because of one being a Muslim".

"Does the definition of freedom fighter change because of one being a Muslim? The BJP is propagating this culture. PM Modi in his January 26 speech said that Jawaharlal Nehru and Jinnah are responsible for dividing the country in 1947. The country should thank the two leaders as they did the work of wisdom by dividing the country into two parts," he said.

Taking a jibe at RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress leader said that they would not have been in the positions they enjoy currently, had Jinnah not divided the country.