Addressing an RSS gathering to mark Maharana Prathap's birth celebrations, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has made another controversial statement on Thursday. He insisted that Mughal emperor Akbar was not great and that only 16th century Mewar king Maharana Pratap was.

According to an Indian Express report, Adityanath praised Pratap's persistence in winning back his forts, and his refusal to accept Akbar as the King. With special mention to the 1576 Haldighati battle, Adityanath said, Pratap had set an example of bravery because the fight was not for a day, but it went on for ages.

UP CM further said that Akbar had asked Pratap to accept him as the king, and in return promised not to interfere in the affairs of his kingdom in Mewar. But Maharana Pratap refused. “I cannot accept Akbar as the king… he is a Turk, and he will remain so… he will hurt our self-respect in the garb of friendship… we cannot accept a foreigner as a king,’’ Adityanath quoted Pratap.

He further added that there were other kings during that time, who put their self-respect at stake and accepted Akbar as their king. But Pratap stood against all the odds. Adding reference of it to a present day scenario he said, there are some people, who are ready to disturb their society, culture, and country even today for their benefits, but they later suffer."  A special edition of RSS magazine ‘Avadh Prahri’ was also released at the event.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 15, 2018 10:25 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).