Shatrughan Sinha clarifies on Jinnah-Congress comment; terms it ‘slip of tongue'

Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday clarified his comment on Jinnah and Congress in which he said that Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah was part of Congress. Congress new recruit termed his statement as a "slip of the tongue".

Sinha, who recently joined the grand old party after quitting BJP and is fielded from Bihar’s Patna Sahib had said that he was supposed to take Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad's name but mistakenly uttered Jinnah's name.

"Whatever I said yesterday was slip of tongue. I wanted to say Maulana Azad but uttered Muhammad Ali Jinnah," he said, news agency ANI reported.

Earlier, reacting on Shatrughan Sinha’s comment on Jinnah, Congress said it seeks his explanation on same. "Shatrughan Sinha, whatever his views are, he must explain. But a few days ago, he was part of BJP. So let the BJP explain why he was a part of the BJP for so many years. I don't have to explain the statement of every member(Congress). I can only speak for the party's official position," senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said.

The Congress leader on Friday irked controversy by his comment on Jinnah, calling him a part of the ‘Congress parivar’ and had contributed to the development and freedom of the country.

"The Congress family, from Mahatma Gandhi to Sardar Patel to Mohammad Ali Jinnah to Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi to Rahul Gandhi to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. It is their party. They had the most important role in the development and freedom of the country. This is the reason why I have come here (in Congress)," the Sinha said in Chhindwara on Friday.

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