Union Minister and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh waded into the controversy over M A Jinnah by comparing the Pakistan founder to one of the Hindu trinity of pantheons -- Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

In an apparent reference to expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh's praise of Jinnah and the support he got from some party leaders, Ramesh said BJP "does not have much love for Jinnah but it hates Jawaharlal Nehru and the hatred for Nehru has transformed into love Jinnah".

He said Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Jinnah were the "Brahma (creator), Vishnu (provider) and Shiva (destroyer) of undivided India".

"Who were the Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva of undivided India? Brahma was Mahatma Gandhi, Vishnu was Jawaharlal Nehru and Shiva was Jinnah", Ramesh told reporters in Bhopal.