Lucknow, May 6 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey today said Muhammad Ali Jinnah had worked to "destroy" the country and during Partition all sections of society had suffered heavy losses.

The BJP leaders statement comes amid the controversy over a portrait of the Pakistan founder at the Aligarh Muslim University.

"Since ancient times, this country has been known as Akhand Bharat (undivided India). Today, the Jinnah episoide, which has come up before the country, has inflicted pain on the people of the country.

"Jinnah has worked to destroy the country and at the time of Partition people from different sections of the society be it Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs or Christians suffered heavy losses," said Pandey, who was attending the Bhagwan Parshuram Jayanti in Atrauli.

In a statement issued here today by the UP BJP, Pandey said, "Instead of giving importance to Jinnah, we should cooperate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India a strong nation."

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)