UP CM Yogi Adityanath goes offensive against Mughal rulers, calls them 'invaders'

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said that the Mughal rulers Akbar and Babur were not a 'great' emperor and also called them as 'invaders'.

He refused to acknowledge Mughal rulers as 'great' emperors, saying the title should be attributed to Maharana Pratap who had never compromised with his self-esteem and was a far greater ruler than anyone in the Indian history.

Speaking at IMRT Lucknow on Thursday, Adityanath said,''Akbar asked Maharana Pratap to accept him as 'badshah' & that then he won't interfere in his kingdom Mewar. Maharana Pratap said we can't accept a 'vidharmi' & a foreigner as our ruler. Maharana proved it wasn't Akbar, but he who was great, by winning back his forts.''

He claimed there were other kings in those times who put their own self-respect at stake to accept Akbar as king. Adityanath added Pratap stood against all odds.

Last year, a BJP MLA from Meerut Sangeet Som had kicked up a similar row when he had sought to remove names of the Mughal rulers from the history books calling them traitors.