Union minister Ramdas Athawale today described the controversy over the portrait of Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, in the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) as unnecessary and suggested it could be removed keeping in mind "public sentiments".
"The portrait of Mohammad Ali Jinnah was installed before independence in the AMU and so there is nothing wrong in it, but it can be removed if the public sentiments are against it," the minister of state for social justice told the media here.
Violence had taken place in the AMU campus, after the varsity students objected to the protests by right-wing group Hindu Yuva Vahini on the campus, demanding the removal of Jinnah's portrait from the students' union office.
On the BJP leaders visiting Dalit houses and sharing meal with them, Athawale said, "Although having dinner will not benefit Dalits, but this is a good initiative for strengthening relations between Dalits and upper castes."
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