Days after Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath said that Lord Hanuman was a Dalit, a BJP legislator has said that he was actually a Muslim.

To justify his statement, MLC Bukkal Nawab said, “Muslims have names like Arman, Rehman, Furqan, Zeeshan, Rehan. This proves that ‘Hanuman’ Ji was also a Muslim. All the names which are used in Muslims are derived from ‘Hanuman’; you will not find any similar sounding names in Hindus.”

Nawab is a former Samajwadi Party leader who hails from the Nawab family of Awadh.

Reacting to Nawab’s statement, Congress MLC Deepak Singh said that BJP should decide first to which caste Hanuman ji belongs.

“We all know that Hanuman Ji was Lord, people who have been terming the caste and religion of Lord Hanuman have committed a sin and they will be punished for this,” he said.

The SP also attacked the BJP over the remarks on Hanuman. Samajawadi Party MLC Rajpal Kashyap said, “Our Deputy CM (Dinesh Sharma), has said that Sita mata was a test tube baby. CM is saying that Lord Hanuman was Dalit while another MLC is saying that Hanuman belonged to a different religion. It seems there is infighting in the BJP government and that’s the reason they are coming up with their own versions.” During a poll rally in Malakheda of Alwar district in Rajasthan on November 27, UP CM Adityanath had reportedly said that Hanuman was a Dalit. However, he denied of having made any such statements.