SP MLA Abu Azmi faces backlash in Maharashtra legislature over Aurangzeb remarks

The issue of Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmirsquos remarks eulogising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb rocked both Houses of the Maharashtra legislature on Tuesday with the ruling Mahayuti members demanding his suspension and charging him with treason Both the Houses were adjourned over the issueThe development came on a day when the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi planned to corner the government over NCP minister Dhananjay Mundes resignation As proceedings of both the Houses began the Mahayuti members started raising slogans seeking action against Azmi who is SPrsquos state president They claimed Azmi was a descendent of Aurangzeb who tortured Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and brutally killed himDeputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde led the attack on Azmi both in the Legislative Council and Assembly In the council the former CM said Azmi also made objectionable statements in the past against Shivaji Maharaj ldquoAbu Azmi is purposely insulting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son Chhatrapati Sambhaji Sambhajirsquos Maharajs bravery and Aurangzebs cruelty will give goosebumps to peoplerdquo Shinde said in the CouncilAurangzeb tortured Sambhaji Maharaj in an inhuman way Azmi referred to Aurangzeb as an able administrator who built temples but he razed Kashi Vishveshwar temple Shinde said The Mughal emperor not only killed Hindus but also people from other religions he said ldquoAurangzeb lost even after he won but Sambhaji through his bravery won even after his sacrifice He Aurangzeb is a demon Even a true Muslim will not forgive the progeny of traitors It is wrong to eulogise Aurangzebrdquo he addedThe deputy CM also demanded that Azmirsquos membership of the Assembly be revoked In the Assembly Shinde dubbed Azmi a ldquotraitorrdquo and said he had no right to sit in the House He asked SP MLA Raees Shaikh to watch the recent Hindi film Chhaava which has depicted the bravery and sacrifice of Sambhaji Maharaj ldquoSee the torture Sambhaji Maharaj endured for 40 days Aurangzeb asked him to change his religionrdquo he saidSambhaji Maharaj won 70 battles in nine years he said adding that Aurangzeb demolished temples and killed his own family Industries Minister Uday Samant of the Shiv Sena reiterated the demand that Azmi be suspended from the House and be booked for treason while BJPrsquos Atul Bhatkhalkar made similar demands ldquoWe cannot tolerate praise of a person who harassed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and tortured Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharajrdquo Samant saidSudhir Mungantiwar BJP demanded that Aurangzebrsquos grave in Maharashtra be demolished Amid the uproar opposition Shiv Sena UBT member Bhaskar Jadhav who tried to speak on an adjournment notice submitted by him in the Assembly termed developments in the House ldquodramardquo The Assembly proceedings were adjourned three times after din over the issue and later adjourned for the dayControversial commentsAzmi had said that during Aurangzebrsquos reign Indias border reached Afghanistan and Burma Myanmar ldquoOur GDP accounted for 24 per cent of the world GDP and India was called a golden sparrow during his regimerdquo claimed the MLA from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar constituency in MumbaiAsked about the fight between Aurangzeb and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Azmi had termed it a political battle In the Council Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve said not only Azmi but those insulting national icons including Chhatrapati Shivaji should be punished and referred to statements of actor Rahul Solapurkar and former journalist Prashant KoratkarCouncil Chairman Ram Shinde said the government should take strict action against whoever has spoken against national icons and Chhatrapati Shivaji Following din over Azmirsquos comments the Upper House was briefly adjourned twice and then for the dayPolice actionMeanwhile the Mumbai police began a probe into a case registered against Azmi over his remarks An FIR was registered on Monday against Azmi by the Thane police on a complaint of Lok Sabha member Naresh Mhaske for allegedly attempting to hurt religious feelings The Thane police subsequently transferred the FIR to Mumbai where a fresh case was registered at Marine Drive police station on Tuesday The Mumbai police booked Azmi under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 299 deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings by insulting religion or religious beliefs 302 uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings and 3561 amp 3562 defamationAzmirsquos remarks an insult to Indian society BJPThe BJP on Tuesday slammed the Congress and other Opposition parties over Azmirsquos remarks about Aurangzeb with the saffron partyrsquos national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi terming Azmirsquos remarks an ldquoinsult to the entire Indian societyrdquo He said that the Opposition INDIA bloc constituents are engaged in a ldquocutthroat competitionrdquo with each other to prove themselves antiHindu for minority votesSudhanshu Trivedi national spokesperson BJP PICXSudhanshu TrivediHe also called the comments a ldquocruel jokerdquo on the traditions established by Chhatrapati Shivaji and the sacrifices made by Chhatrapati Sambhaji ldquoThis unwarranted and unwanted glorification of Aurangzeb who was one of the most cruel and tyrannical rulers in history is an insult to Indian society This is an old tendency of the Congress and lsquoINDI Alliancersquo Earlier their Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi had visited Aurangzebrsquos tomb and prayedrdquo Trivedi told reporters when asked for commentThis makes it clear that they can ldquocross any limit and stoop down to any levelrdquo to carry forward their campaign to eradicate Sanatan Dharma he alleged ldquoThis also shows how much they hate Indian traditions and culturerdquo Trivedi also a Rajya Sabha MP saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever