A senior BJP Muslim leader and a member of the Yogi Adityanath cabinet, on Friday asked his community members to wear 'bhagwa' (saffron) clothes saying that it was a "symbol of light".
Minister of state for minority affairs Mohsin Raza said here that the lives of the Muslims would "enlightened" if they put on saffron clothes.
"Bhagwa is not a gift from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath... it is a gift from the Allah (the Almighty)... it is a symbol of light," Raza said in response to a query here.
Raza was asked whether the state government wanted to "saffronise" the Islamic seminaries by providing that even 'non-Urdu' speaking people could also teach there.
"The lives of the clerics who teach at madarsas (Islamic seminaries), and the students will be enlightened if they wore saffron clothes," the minister added.
Raza went on to cite the example of the followers of the 'Chishtiya' sect of Islam and said that their religious leaders wore saffron clothes. "I think the Muslims should not have any problems in wearing saffron clothes," he remarked further.
The Uttar Pradesh government has issued an advisory for the Islamic seminaries in the state on celebrating the Independence Day on August 15.
The new advisory has mandated hoisting of the tricolour at the madarsas and singing of the National Anthem. It has also asked the teachers to tell the students the stories of the great personalities of the country.