Mohsin Raza, Uttar Pradesh Minister for Minority Affairs and the Muslim face of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state, raised many an eyebrow on Friday after he asked all Muslims to wear saffron clothes, terming it a 'symbol of light'.
"Saffron is not a gift from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath but a gift from Allah. The colour symbolises light. If students and teachers in 'madrasas' wear saffron, their lives will see a new light," he said.
Pointing out that people from the Chishti sect wear saffron and that their tradition is older than the BJP, the minister said Muslims should not have a problem in wearing saffron.
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“I will be happy if the clerics discuss the issue with intellectuals because saffron is a symbol of light and energy," he said.
Raza, who is often seen wearing saffron kurtas, was in the news after he supported the triple talaq bill and Yogi Adityanath's stand on the 'Ali and Bajrangbali' controversy.
The minister's controversial comments came even as the Uttar Pradesh government issued an advisory for the Islamic seminaries in the state on celebrating the Independence Day on August 15. The new advisory has mandated hoisting of the tricolour and singing of the national anthem at the madrasas.
