'Advani praised Jinnah': Congress slams PM Modi over 'Muslim League' remark

Congress has slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for saying that Congress' manifesto bears the imprint of the Muslim League. In a video posted on X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that it was BJP veteran LK Advani who once praised Muslim League Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Pakistan.

"Syama Prasad Mukherjee made an agreement with Jinnah's Muslim League. Congress had never made an agreement. Lal Krishna Advani and (former Union Minister) Jaswant Singh went to Pakistan and praised Jinnah," said Ramesh.

Ramesh further said that he wanted to remind Modi that it was Mukherjee and Hindu Mahasabha that was in alliance with the Muslim League in the early 1940s.

Ramesh's remarks come after Modi said the grand old party's election manifesto reflects the same thought as that of the Muslim League at the time of the freedom movement.

Prime Minister Modi said the Congress, which existed at the time of the freedom movement, has "ended decades ago".

"A number of great personalities were associated with the Congress. The name of Mahatma Gandhi was associated with the Congress. The Congress, which is left today, neither has policies in the interest of the nation nor vision for the nation's development," Prime Minister Modi said.

"Yesterday, the kind of election manifesto was released, it has proved that today's Congress is completely cut off from the hopes and aspirations of today's India," he added addressing an election rally in Saharanpur.

It is noteworthy that in 2005, Advani in a trip to Karachi, heaped praises on Jinnah, calling him a great man and a secular leader. Advani even called Jinnah an 'Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity'.

Some believe that Advani said this in a bid to soften his hard-line Hindutva image. Following his comment, Advani is said to have faced severe from the RSS.

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