After CM sectt, Haj office wall gets saffron hue; SP, cleric fumes

The Haj office compound wall got a bright saffron shade within days of the BJP government reducing the number of holidays allotted to state-recognised madrasas in the 2018 calendar.

The paint was carried out late last night by the Uttar Pradesh estates department and the Haj office staff was not immediately available for a reaction, Friday being a holiday.

The move prompted the opposition Samajwadi Party to accuse the BJP government of indulging in "blatant saffronisation".

"The BJP is a party known for changing colours. It is indulging in these antics only to hide its faults and failures. If the BJP really considers the saffron colour as sacrosanct, it should not indulge in politicisation of the colour and indulge in blatant saffronisation," SP spokesman Sunil Singh Sajan said.

All India Shia Personal Law Board spokesperson Yasoob Abbas took strong exception to the change in colour.

"What is this? The BJP will paint it saffron, the SP will choose green and the BSP blue...This is politics of colour and should be avoided," he said.

When contacted, Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mohsin Raza said, "I fail to understand the problem of those having issues with the new colour. Is saffron an anti-national colour? Saffron is a colour which symbolises ujala (brightness) and urja (energy)."

He said, "When the first rays of the Sun fall on the Earth, it comes with saffron light."

Raza said, "Saffron is a colour, which is synonymous with positivity. It is a gift of God. I think those who are against the usage of saffron colour on the (boundary) wall of the UP Haj committee office, may also object to saffron colour in the national tri-colour."

He said, "This is peculiar politics. After all, only the outer wall of the government office has been painted and not the building or any personal property of any individual."