Akbar is no great emperor: Yogi Adityanath

Kicking up a fresh row on Muslim rulers in the country, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath refused to acknowledge Akbar as 'great' emperor, saying the title should be attributed to Maharana Pratap who had never compromised with his self-esteem and was a far greater ruler than anyone in the Indian history.

Speaking at IMRT Lucknow on Thursday, CM Adityanath said "only Maharana Pratap had the guts to say to Akbar's emissary that he will never accept a foreigner and non-Hindu as an Emperor."

"A society misguided by distorted history can never lay a strong foundation for the future. Our glorious past will, however, act as a catalyst for our bright future. In this regard, people should draw inspiration from life and valour of Great Maharana Pratap," he said.

The Chief Minister said Maharana Pratap spent nomadic life for years but never budged and compromised on his self-respect and esteem when it came to accepting a foreigner as emperor. Yogi Adityanath also released a special issue of magazine titled 'Yuva Shaurya', containing articles and essays on life and stories of his valour.

Last year, a BJP MLA from Meerut Sangeet Som had kicked up a similar row when he had sought to remove names of the Mughal rulers from the history books calling them traitors.

A couple of days back, a BJP MLA from Ballia Surendra Singh had demanded to rename world famous White Mausoleum Taj Mahal as Lord Ram Mahal / Krishna Mahal or simply Rashtra Bhkat Mahal.

"Come elections and they always make attempts to divide the society on communal lines. The BJP and its leaders cannot change the history by simply making such nonsense utterances," reacted Rajendra Chowdhary, the Samajwadi Party spokesperson.

Not The First

Last year, BJP MLA Sangeet Som had sought removal of Mughal rulers’ names from history books calling them ‘traitors’.

BJP MLA Surendra Singh had demanded to rename Taj Mahal as Lord Ram Mahal or Lord Krishna Mahal.