Mumbai
There was an uproar in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Tuesday for praising the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb on behalf of SP MLA Abu Azmi. He had said that Aurangzeb’s rule was so good that India was a golden bird during his era. The MLA from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar in Mumbai claimed, “Our GDP (GDP) was 24 percent of the world and India (during Aurangzeb’s reign) was called a golden bird.” Members of the ruling coalition ‘Mahayuti’ in Maharashtra demanded suspension of SP MLA Abu Asim Azmi from Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Tuesday to praise Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
The uproar on this issue was so much that the proceedings had to be postponed twice. As soon as the proceedings of the House started, members of the ruling coalition claimed that Azmi was a descendant of Aurangzeb, who tortured Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and brutally murdered him. BJP’s Atul Bhatkar demanded that a case of treason should be registered on Azmi and they should be suspended from the assembly for the budget session. Shiv Sena minister Gulabrao Patil also demanded action against Azmi. BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar demanded that Aurangzeb’s grave be demolished. Seeing the members being fierce, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar adjourned the house for 10 minutes.
Later, when the proceedings of the House started again, Industry Minister Uday Samant reiterated the demand that Azmi be suspended from the House and a case of treason should be registered against him. He said, “We cannot tolerate praise of a person who harassed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and tortured his son Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.” Amid the uproar, Shiv Sena Uddhav faction member Bhaskar Jadhav described the uproar during the proceedings of the House as a ‘drama’. After the noise, the Speaker again adjourned the House’s proceedings for 30 minutes.
Earlier on Monday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde demanded that Azmi should be filed a case of treason to praise Aurangzeb, who brutally tortured Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. On Monday, an FIR was also lodged against Azmi in the Deputy Chief Minister’s political field Thane on charges of attempting to hurt religious sentiments on the complaint of Lok Sabha member Naresh Mhaskay.
SP’s Maharashtra unit president Azmi had said that India’s border had reached Afghanistan and Burma (Myanmar) during Aurangzeb’s reign. The MLA claimed, “Our GDP (GDP) (World GDP) was 24 percent and India (during Aurangzeb’s reign) was called a golden bird.” The recent Hindi film ‘Chhava’ depicts the bravery and sacrifice of Sambhaji Maharaj.
