Jinnah row: Haryana minister Capt Abhimanyu wants AMU named after 'Jat king'

Amid a row over Muhammad Ali Jinnah's portrait on Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus, Haryana finance minister Captain Abhimanyu on Sunday demanded the varsity be named after 'Jat king' Mahendra Pratap Singh.

"I demand AMU should be named after Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh," the Haryana minister said addressing a gathering at a ground-breaking ceremony of a Jat Dharamsala in Rewari.

The Haryana minister claimed Mahendra Pratap Singh had "donated" the land for the varsity. Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh's contribution in the field of education cannot be forgotten, he added.

Jinnah, he said, "was responsible for destroying the integrity of the nation. His portrait is displayed in the varsity, but till today no picture of Raja Mahendra Pratap has been installed there".

Meanwhile, the Aligarh Muslim University Students Union (AMUSU) has written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his intervention into the controversy surrounding the portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

In their letter to Kovind, the students alleged that no satisfactory action has been taken by the Uttar Pradesh government yet. They also said that the Aligarh district administration was yet to act against those who trespassed into the campus and indulged in acts of violence on May 2.

PTI