Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi. File. | Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Abu Asim Azmi’s remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb triggered a controversy in the Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday, with leaders from the ruling Mahayuti alliance raising slogans demanding that Mr. Azmi be charged with sedition, and suspended. A complaint has been registered against Mr. Azmi at the Marine Drive Police Station.
The Upper House was adjourned over the issue.
Also read | BJP criticises SP’s Abu Azmi for praising Aurangzeb; accuses Opposition of trying to spread hatred
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde condemned Mr. Azmi for “purposely disrespecting the deities of Maharashtra”. “He [Azmi] is a traitor and has no right to sit in the House. He should apologise for insulting patriots. Aurangzeb not only killed Sambhaji Maharaj but tortured him inhumanly. He [Aurangzeb] vandalised temples, and killed people across all religions, including Hindus,” Mr. Shinde said in the Assembly.
On Monday, Mr. Azmi had praised Aurangzeb, and said that “India was called the ‘golden bird’ and GDP during Aurangzeb’s era was 24%”.
He referred to historian Ram Puniyani’s observations while speaking to media persons. “The wrong history has been painted. Aurangzeb constructed many temples. I don’t believe he was a cruel ruler. Ram Puniyani said that Aurangzeb’s battle was about power and wealth, religion had nothing to do with it. 34% of people who worked with him were Hindu. He destroyed both masjid (mosque) and temple,” Mr. Azmi said.
Shiv Sena leader Shaina Chudasama Munot also slammed Mr. Azmi. “Dear abuasimazmi, a history lesson is due for you, Aurangzeb destroyed thousands of Hindu temples, including the Trimbakeshwar temple and the temple next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. He ordered the destruction of the Jagannatha temple too. Aurangzeb destroyed the 1,000-year-old temple and built a mosque over it. It was the Marathas who recaptured Nashik in 1751 and rebuilt the temple. So stop playing vote bank politics sir,” Ms. Munot said in a post on social media platform X.
Shiv Sena leader Naresh Mhaske filed a complaint in Thane, which was later transferred to the Marine Drive Police Station as the remarks had been made in the legislative building. The police booked Mr. Azmi under Sections 299, 302, 356(1), 356(2) (offences related to defamation and hurting religious feelings) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Mr. Azmi has retracted his remarks and apologised for hurting people’s sentiments. “The historians, including Satish Chandra, Dr. Rajiv Dixit, Dr. Ram Puniyani, Meena Bhargava, Avadh Ojha, and others, spoke about Aurangzeb in good light, but they were never banned or criticised. I cannot make derogatory remarks about great leaders like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and Babasaheb Ambedkar in my wildest dream. If someone is hurt, I take my words back,” Mr. Azmi said, adding his statements had been made on the basis of a historian’s observations.
Mr. Azmi alleged that the First Information Report (FIR) had been filed as he hails from a Muslim community, and that historians had not been charged for their books on Aurangzeb.
Published – March 04, 2025 11:05 pm IST
