Karnataka: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday cleared his stand on the ongoing controversy over Muhammad Ali Jinnah and said that “A person who is responsible for country’s division cannot be respected”.

He further said that since the university is a central university, therefore the state government has little role to play in the case. He also asserted that he has sought a report on the entire matter.

Yogi, who is in Karnataka for campaigning for the upcoming assembly elections, broke his silence for the first time on the matter, where different leaders have made various statements on Jinnah.

Escalating the matter further, SP leader and Gorakhpur MP Praveen Nishad  made a controversial statement and  compared Jinnah to Nehru and Gandhi. He said, “The way Nehru and Gandhi contributed to free India, the same way Jinnah also has equal contribution in country’s freedom”.

READ: AMU row escalates after SP leader compares Jinnah to Nehru and Gandhi

The controversy began after BJP MP has asked Aligarh Muslim University to explain why it displays a portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, triggering a row days after a student sought permission to hold an RSS shakha on its premises.

In a letter written to Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor yesterday, Aligarh MP Satish Gautam objected to the Pakistan founder's picture on the walls of the AMU student union office.