Kanpur, May 3 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya today steered clear of the controversy over his ministerial colleague Swami Prasad Maurya's reported remarks in "praise" of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Keshav said the matter concerns the party and will be resolved there.

"Jinnah has no place in the country...he was an enemy of the country and will remain as one," he told newspersons when asked to comment on the controversy over Swami's reported statement.

Swami's reported statement that Jinnah contributed to India's freedom before partition had kicked up a row with even his own party leaders raising objections over it.

He had, however, dismissed the allegations levelled against him a day later.

(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)