After his statement made at a public meeting held at Nashik on Saturday that “those refusing to say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ have no right to live in India” created a stir in the political circles, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday blamed a section of the media for creating a controversy.
Without actually denying the statement attributed to him by a section of the media, Fadnavis said in a statement: “In my 50 minute speech, for 45 long minutes I spoke about Maharashtra’s drought situation & development and just for 5 minutes I spoke on Bharat Mata Ki Jai & Shani Shingnapur issue, but media picked only ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and that too only a part of it. It clearly proves that a section of media is interested in creating controversy only”.
While two leading Marathi dailies quoted Fadnavis as saying at a public rally held after the BJP’s State executive meeting that “those refusing to `Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ have no right to live in India”, an English daily put out a milder version of his statement saying that “if we do not say `Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ would it be said in Pakistan or China”.
“There is still a dispute in the country over saying ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and those refusing to say it, have no right to stay in the country,” a leading Marathi daily “loksatta” quoted the chief minister as saying at a public rally held at Yeshwantrao Maharaj ground at Nashik on Saturday night.
In a detailed statement issued here on Sunday afternoon, Fadnavis also clarified: “I also mentioned in my speech yesterday that ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ has nothing to do with religion because I salute those 500 plus patriotic, highly placed and highly respected Muslim Clerics who not only did National Flag hoisting at Mahim Dargah(Mumbai) but also chanted Bharat Mata Ki Jai with a feeling of nationalism and patriotism on 17th March on the occasion of 603rd Urs of Hajrat Makhdum Fateh Ali Mahimi. No media is broadcasting this”.
“We absolutely have no problem if somebody says Jai Hind or Jai Bharat or Jai Hindustan, but all we object about is when someone says, “ I won’t say Bharat Mata Ki Jai”