UP Minister Raza wants Muslims to wear saffron

Lucknow: UP Minister for Minority Affairs, Mohsin Raza, on Friday asked all Muslims to wear saffron clothes, saying it is a "gift from Allah".

"Saffron is not a gift from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath but a gift from Allah. The colour symbolizes light. If students and teachers in ''madrasas'' wear saffron, their lives will see a new light," he said on Friday.

The minister said that people from the Chishti sect also wear saffron and their tradition is older than the BJP.

"Muslims should not have a problem in wearing saffron because it is already an established tradition.

I will be happy if the clerics discuss the issue with intellectuals because saffron is a symbol of light and energy," he said.

Raza has earlier been in the news for issuing advisory to madrasas on Independence Day, supporting the Triple Talaq Bill and even supporting Adityanath''s stand on the "Ali and Bajrangbali" controversy.

Raza, a former cricketer, is now the Muslim face of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and is often seen wearing saffron kurtas.